Suggestion

A fellow English teacher writes:
A colleague and I were recently at odds on the use of "suggest." He thinks that "suggest somebody to do something" is correct in grammar and usage, as in

I suggested him to inquire at the library.

I said that I thought that these forms are acceptable:
(using that)
I suggest that you inquire at the library.
I suggested to him that he inquire at the library.

(but no that, no to)
I suggest you inquire at the library

On further reflection, I think the structure he wants to use would be acceptable by using the word advise, as in

I advise you to inquire at the library.

One concern, however is that "advise" has a slightly heavier or more serious meaning than suggest.

"Recommend" could be used instead of "suggest," but only in the form

I recommend that you inquire at the library.

If we remove the that, then the meaning and structure change:

I recommend you for the job.

Any further comments on this?

Oh dear...a dispute among colleagues is always upsetting. Well, here's what I suggest:

I would never write "I suggested him to inquire at the library." I agree with your alternatives:
I suggest that you inquire at the library.
I suggested to him that he inquire at the library.

(but no that, no to)
I suggest you inquire at the library.

In the third example, the "that" is understood. All three examples use a subordinate clause to explain what it is that I suggest.

Whether we say "suggest," "advise," or "recommend," we're dealing with a transitive verb, and the object is what we suggest, or advise, or recommend:

I suggest Sarah as our delegate. (object is a proper noun)
I suggest her as our delegate. (object is a pronoun)
I suggest that Sarah attend as our delegate. (object is a subordinate clause)
He advises the king. (object is a noun)
He advises that the king declare war. (object is a subordinate clause)
We recommend Sam Jones as the best person for the job. (object is a proper noun)
We recommend that Sam Jones be offered the job. (object is a subordinate clause)

We could, as you suggest, follow "advise" with an infinitive phrase—or with a subordinate clause:
I advised him to inquire at the library.
I advised that he inquire at the library.

"Advise" can carry a more formal connotation, since we often associate it with "counsel": A very serious suggestion or recommendation about an important matter. But that becomes a matter of the writer's judgment, rather than a simple choice of synonyms.

I welcome any other English teachers' comments on this very interesting question.

Comments

[Brett]

I've seen the "suggest (person) to (do something)" construction used in Japan by non-native speakers of English, but never by native speakers. Indeed, a search of the British National Corpus for "suggest* * to *" turns up no instances of such a construction.

[Steve]

Some further searching has led to the use of suggest in the sense of recommend, as in
"In 1985 Stephen took a director's training course, directed a short training film and sent it to Schlesinger, who suggested him to producer Mark Shivas as director for Channel 4's drama trilogy What If It's Raining?, written by Anthony Minghella. " from the Guardian at http://arts.guardian.co.uk/news/obituary/0,,899801,00.html

and

"Hemmings turned 60 last month but, far from settling into obscurity, he's having a big-screen renaissance after an absence of nearly 20 years. It started two years ago, when a friend suggested him to Ridley Scott for a part in Gladiator." from the Guardian at http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,735033,00.html

The same article immediately above has the sentence "Hemmings suggests pints all round." Here the suggestion is that they order a round of drinks. Could we also say, "[A] suggested snacks (idlis, pretzels, chips) all around."? What else can be suggested with the implication being "suggest that something be distributed to all?". We clearly see the role of context in that utterance.

[Brett]

I think this is a different sense. 'Suggest (a person) to(preposition) (another person)' is normal; 'suggest a person to(infinitive marker) do something' is non-standard.

[Jesper]

In my computer edition of Merriam-Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary, I see two uncommon ways to use the word 'suggest'. The obsolete usage is a synonym with 'seduce', and another uncommon usage is a synonym with 'evoke'.

Although neither of these definitions fits the context that was assumed ('advised' or 'recommended'), they do make grammatical sense.