Giving “recommendations” is part and parcel of the business world. But be careful… in English, we don’t use the word “recommend” the same way as we do in Hebrew.
Let’s talk about it...
If we want to give a recommendation in Hebrew, we would say something like this:
אני ממליצה לך______.
But if we translate it word-for-word into English, we would assume that we can say: “I recommend to you…”
However, this is incorrect.
And even if we get rid of the word “to”, and say “I recommend you…”, it’s still a problem.
In English, when you want to recommend something, right after the word “recommend”, you should specify the object you are recommending.
For example: “I recommend that movie” or “I recommend that hotel”.
In addition to objects (things/places), you can also recommend an action. But you should use the gerund form of the verb (meaning, with “ing” at the end).
For example: “I recommend seeing that movie” or “I recommend staying at that hotel.”
If you use “recommend” the way we use it in Hebrew, it means something else.
If someone says “I recommend you…” that means that person is talking about you to someone else – not to you. The most common situation is when someone refers you for a job.
For example: “I will speak to my manager, and I will recommend you for the open position in our Sales Department.”
In this sentence, the meaning is that I will talk with my manager, and tell him how great you are, and how perfect you are for this position. When I ‘recommend you’, I speak about you – not to you.
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