Recommander

Recommander is a French verb meaning to recommend or to advise in favor of something or someone. It is used transitively, often with an object that is being endorsed, and can convey both a casual suggestion and a stronger endorsement. The construction recommander de + infinitive is common when giving advice about an action, as in recommander de lire ce chapitre.

Etymology and form: the verb is formed with the prefix re- attached to the base recommander, itself derived from the Latin commendare via Old French. In modern French, recommander is treated as a regular -er verb, though its stem reflects the underlying form of commander/recommand- rather than a simple root.

Conjugation: in the present tense the forms are: je recommande, tu recommandes, il recommande, nous recommandons, vous recommandez, ils recommandent. The past participle is recommandé, used with auxiliary avoir in compound tenses (j’ai recommandé). The imperfect is recommandais, recommandait, recommandions, recommandiez, recommandaient; the future is recommanderai, recommanderas, recommandera, recommanderons, recommanderez, recommanderont; the conditional is recommanderais, recommanderais, recommanderait, recommanderions, recommanderiez, recommanderaient. The imperative forms are recommande, recommandons, recommandez.

Usage notes: recommended phrases include recommender à quelqu’un de faire quelque chose (to advise someone to do something) and recommander quelque chose à quelqu’un (to recommend something to someone). Pronouns may replace the direct object, as in je te le recommande. Common synonyms include conseiller and préconiser, while déconseiller denotes advising against.

Noun form: la recommandation refers to the act or instance of recommending. Recommander is widely used in everyday speech, journalism, education, and professional contexts where endorsement or guidance is indicated.