What do something

I'd like someone else's opinion on this if it's possible. We can say I suggested Bill play Hamlet. Play is not an infinitive in such a sentence, but a subjunctive, that is assumed after suggested.

The construction would be unusual, in my experience, after the present of suggest. Hermione Golightly Senior Member London. We can use suggest with the - ing form of a verb when we mention an action but do not mention the person who will do it, because it is understood in the context: She suggested travell ing together for safety, since the area was so dangerous.

Last edited: Feb 14, Hermione Golightly Now I see why, thanks a lot! Is it also wrong to say: 1 I suggest your going there. How about this one? PaulQ Would that make "I suggest Bill's going there" correct too, because Bill's is also a possessive? Yes, it would. Last edited: Feb 27, Oddmania Senior Member France. In my understanding of English grammar, gerunds act as nouns.

So, " I suggest Bill's playing the part of Hamlet " does not mean that you suggest Bill for the part of Hamlet. It means that you suggest [a noun] : you suggest Bill's performance as Hamlet. What do you suggest it for?

We don't know. I suppose it might be correct in a different context. For example, "Whose performance do you suggest should be awarded at the festival? Probably nowhere near as natural as "I suggest Bill's performance as Hamlet Oddmania said:.

Thomas Tompion said:. Do we award performances at a festival? If you mean Whose performance should be awarded the prize? Then you could say I suggest Bill's performance as Hamlet , but, of course, we are far now from the form of suggest we were discussing earlier. Oddmania Yes, that's why I thought "Bill's playing" would also be correct, at least from a grammatical standpoint, because "playing" is a gerund, which is technically a noun. Thomas Tompion Isn't it "suggest that Bill go there" since it's subjunctive?

I probably should have written " rewarded ". Last edited: Feb 28, I'm afraid we don't reward prizes either. Sign up for free and get access to exclusive content:. Free word lists and quizzes from Cambridge. Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes. Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans.

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Grammar Thesaurus. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Asked 10 years, 8 months ago. Active 4 years, 10 months ago. Viewed k times. What's the meaning of "get to do something"?

I get to spend a lot of time with you and the kids. Improve this question. Add a comment.