Episode 42: She Suggested We Try

Reported suggestions + verb patterns — Thomas Edison, 1880s (B1-B2)

Grammar Box

Meaning: We use reported suggestions to tell others about ideas, recommendations, or proposals someone made.

Form: suggest/recommend/propose + (that) + subject + verb OR + verb-ing

Example 1: She suggested trying a different approach.

Example 2: He recommended that we start earlier.

Common mistake: Wrong: She suggested me to try. Better: She suggested trying / She suggested that I try.

The Challenge

Luna’s project team was stuck. In their last meeting, her colleague had said, “Why don’t we try a different design? Maybe we should ask the client first. How about focusing on the main feature?” Now Luna needed to update her manager. “My colleague suggested… to try? that we try? trying?” Each version sounded different. The watch pulsed with warm light. Professor Wisdom appeared, holding an old photograph. “Suggestions,” he said, “are where individual voices become team wisdom. Let me show you a laboratory where suggestions changed the world.”

The Journey

Menlo Park, New Jersey, 1880s. Thomas Edison’s laboratory glowed late into the night. This wasn’t one genius working alone — it was a team of brilliant minds testing, failing, and trying again. Edison stood before a failed light bulb prototype, the thousandth attempt. His assistant, Francis Upton, studied the burnt filament and spoke carefully.

“Mr. Edison,” Upton said, “I suggest that we change the material entirely. Carbon isn’t working. I recommend trying platinum wire instead.” Edison nodded thoughtfully. Another team member, Charles Batchelor, leaned forward. “I propose that we test the vacuum level first. Maybe the problem isn’t the filament — it’s the air inside.” A younger assistant added nervously, “Sir, may I suggest using Japanese bamboo? I read about its fiber structure.”

Edison listened to every voice. He believed in what he called “collective invention” — the idea that breakthroughs come from combining many minds. He turned to his team: “Gentlemen, Upton has suggested changing the material. Batchelor has proposed testing the vacuum. Young Stevens has recommended trying bamboo.” He smiled. “I suggest we try all three. Simultaneously.”

The team worked through the night. They didn’t just follow orders — they contributed ideas, challenged assumptions, suggested improvements. When one approach failed, someone else proposed an alternative. “What if we…” “Have you considered…” “Might I suggest…” These phrases filled the laboratory. By dawn, they had tested seventeen variations. Six months later, one suggestion — the bamboo filament — would lead to the breakthrough that lit the modern world.

Edison later said, “I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others.” But he could have added: “And I never perfected an invention without my team suggesting, recommending, and proposing better ways forward.”

The Deep Dive

Suggestions differ from commands because they offer options, not orders. English has specific verb patterns for reporting suggestions, and mixing them causes confusion. The main pattern is: suggest/recommend/propose + verb-ing OR + (that) + subject + base verb. “She suggested trying” or “She suggested that we try.” Notice both are correct but structured differently.

However, we cannot use the infinitive with “to” after these verbs. “She suggested to try” is wrong. This is different from commands (told/asked + to + verb). Also, we cannot put the person directly after the verb: “She suggested me to try” is incorrect. Instead, use “She suggested that I try” or “She suggested my trying” (more formal).

Other suggestion verbs follow similar patterns. “Recommend” and “propose” work exactly like “suggest.” “Advise” is different — it can take “to”: “She advised me to try.” Understanding these patterns prevents common intermediate-level mistakes and makes your English sound natural and professional.

More Examples

History: Churchill’s advisors suggested that Britain negotiate with Germany, but he recommended continuing the fight instead.

Science: The research team proposed conducting more trials and suggested using a control group for accuracy.

Everyday: My friend recommended trying the new coffee shop downtown and suggested going there this Saturday.

Formal: The consultant proposed that the company restructure its departments and recommended hiring external auditors.

Informal: My roommate suggested ordering pizza and proposed that we watch a movie instead of going out.

Contrast: “She told me to wait” (command) vs “She suggested waiting” (option) — suggestions give choice, commands don’t.

Practice & Reflection

Exercises:

Fill in the blank: The manager _ that we reconsider the deadline and _ hiring additional staff.
Correct the mistake: My teacher suggested me to read more books in English.
Choose and explain: “The doctor __ that I exercise regularly.”
a) suggested
b) told
Rewrite: Direct: “Why don’t we take a break?” → Reported: He __
Compare: What’s the difference between “She suggested trying” and “She suggested that we try”?
Your reflection: Think of a recent suggestion you made or received. Report it using two different structures.

Answer Key:

suggested / recommended (or proposed) — both fit the suggestion pattern
My teacher suggested that I read / suggested reading — no “to” after suggest
a) suggested — both work, but “told” is too strong for general health advice
He suggested taking / suggested that we take a break
Same meaning; -ing form is simpler, “that” clause is more formal
Check: suggest/recommend + -ing OR + that + subject + base verb?

The Lesson

Luna typed confidently: “Sarah suggested trying a different design. She recommended that we ask the client first. She also proposed focusing on the main feature.” The watch dimmed. Luna smiled. Edison’s team didn’t just follow one leader’s vision — they built it together, suggestion by suggestion. Every “What if we…” moved them closer to the light. And now, whenever Luna hears an idea worth sharing, she knows exactly how to pass it forward.