These words have similar meanings.

Recommend

To recommend is to tell somebody what you think they should do in a particular situation.

I would recommend parents to keep a tab on their children.

Recommend can also be followed by an –ing form or a that-clause.

I would recommend that parents keep a tab on their children.

Note the patterns given below.

You can recommend something to somebody.

Example

He recommended your travels company to me.

Or you can recommend that somebody do something.

Example

He recommended that I should book this trip through your travels company.

Suggest and advice

The words suggest and advise have similar meanings. Note that advise is stronger than recommend or suggest.

Advise can be followed by a to-infinitive. Suggest cannot be followed by a to-infinitive.

Here are some examples.

He advised me to work hard.

He advised that I should work hard.

He suggested that I work / should work hard. (NOT He suggested me to work hard.)

He suggested working hard. (NOT He suggested to work hard.)

He suggested /recommended that I should apply for that job.

He advised me to apply for that job.

He recommended me to apply for that job.

The phrase ‘I advise you…’ suggests that you are more knowledgeable than the person you advise. This might cause offence if they are senior to you. The words recommend and suggest are somewhat neutral.

Recommend is mainly used to tell people about the possible benefits of doing something. Advise is mainly used to warn people about possible dangers.