"urge"

Question

Which one of the following options is not suitable to replace the underlined word?"Despite concerns over the country's huge burden of subsidies, the Minister of Finance urges Malaysians not to worry as the country is still on track in realising its goal to become a developed nation by 2020."A. suggestsB. advocatesC. demandsD. advisesmy answer is "C", is that correct?thanks

CalifJim · Accepted Answer

yang5s1Which one of the following options is not suitable to replace the underlined word?

You have two factors to consider here: meaning and grammar.

urges is closest in meaning to advises or advocates; less close to suggests or demands.
So, from the viewpoint of meaning, demands is the answer.
________________

The grammatical pattern urges someone not to do something is available for advises.

... advises him not to climb that tree ... (OK)

However, it would be wrong to use that pattern with any of the other three verbs listed.

... suggests him not to ... (wrong)
... advocates him not to ... (wrong)
... demands him not to ... (wrong)

___________

So, whether from the viewpoint of meaning or from the viewpoint of grammar, all but advisesare wrong and therefore unsuitable.

If the question had asked which choice was suitable, you could have chosen advises. (D). As it is, it seems that something is wrong with the question itself.

CJ

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi CalifJim,

Could I ask you about the following please?

CalifJimsuggests him not to ... (wrong)...

advocates him not to ... (wrong)...

demands him not to ... (wrong)

CJ

1. The grammar pattern I read in the grammar book says: The doctor suggests that she take some rest. (staying in bed).

>Do you mean "The doctor suggests her not to get up" would be wrong?

>But "The doctor advises her not to get up" would be correct?

2. When using "suggest", is it "suggest to him" or "suggest him"? I have seen "suggest to him" but I can't understand how the pattern is? Could you tell me?

Thank you.

Tinanam

Edited to correct formatting. CJ

CalifJim · Answer

>Do you mean "The doctor suggests her not to get up" would be wrong? Yes. That's wrong.

>But "The doctor advises her not to get up" would be correct? Yes. That's correct.

When using "suggest", is it "suggest to him" or "suggest him"? I have seen "suggest to him" but I can't understand how the pattern is? "suggest him" is wrong. "suggest to him" is awkward (to my ear), though correct. I avoid both.

___________________________

"suggest something to him", placing "to him" after the direct object, is not so awkward, but of limited use.

We suggested a new plan to the committee.
____________________________

By far the most usual pattern is with a that clause. The subject of the that clause is usually, but not always, the person who receives the suggestion.

I suggested that he study the irregular verbs. (to him is implied, but not said.)

The professor suggests that we begin as soon as possible. (to us is implied, but not said.)

But note:

The employees suggested that a collection be taken to raise money for a new coffee maker.
(No recipient of the suggestion. This was probably a conclusion reached after the employees discussed the situation among themselves. You might say that they suggested this course of action to each other -- or that they made their opinions known to the leader of their group. In any case, it is not always necessary to say who received a suggestion.)

CJ

Tinanam0102 · Answer

Hi CalifJim,

Thank you for correcting the formatting of my post, and the help with the answers.

Have a great day.

Tinanam

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