Subject-verb agreement: We strongly suggest Mr. Smith review his insurance policy

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hello everybody,

Can someone please explain to me which sentence below is correct and why. I appreciate any response.

We strongly suggest Mr. Smith review his insurance policy.

Or

We strongly suggest Mr. Smith reviews his insurance policy.

2

The correct one is, “We strongly suggest Mr. Smith review his insurance policy.”

This one is correct because the verb “suggest” requires the use of the subjunctive in the dependent clause. In the subjunctive, there is no subject-verb agreement, and the verb always has the same form.

3

Hi Unlv08

As Jamie has said, this sentence uses the subjunctive form of the verb ‘review’:

  • We strongly suggest Mr. Smith review his insurance policy.

The subjunctive is frequently used after the verb ‘suggest’. The use of the simple present tense is wrong in your sentence.

Have a look at this thread:
Unless he be very much changed … (use of “be”)
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4

Hi Unlv08,

I assume you understand how the subjunctive is made in English ans how it is used?

Alan

5

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I suspect unlv08 will be able to find quite a bit of additional information if he/she follows the link I provided. That thread also includes a link to your article, Alan.

[size=84](I’m an equal opportunity linker.)[/size]:wink:
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