put forward a suggestion

Meaning

This phrase means to propose an idea, plan, or recommendation for other people to consider or discuss. It is highly common in meetings, brainstorming sessions, and professional emails. The tone is polite, collaborative, and constructive.

Examples

• During the meeting, Sarah put forward a suggestion to automate our weekly reporting.

  During the meeting, Sarah put forward a suggestion to automate our weekly reporting.

• I'd like to put forward a suggestion regarding our marketing budget for next quarter.

  I'd like to put forward a suggestion regarding our marketing budget for next quarter.

• No one put forward a suggestion, so the manager had to make the decision himself.

  No one put forward a suggestion, so the manager had to make the decision himself.

• If you want to put forward a suggestion, please send it to the project coordinator.

  If you want to put forward a suggestion, please send it to the project coordinator.

• He put forward a useful suggestion that ended up saving the company thousands of dollars.

  He put forward a useful suggestion that ended up saving the company thousands of dollars.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I want to put up a suggestion for the next project.

  ✓ I want to put forward a suggestion for the next project.

  'Put up' means to tolerate or build something. Use 'put forward' to mean propose an idea.

• ✗ She proposed to forward a suggestion.

  ✓ She put forward a suggestion.

  Combining 'propose' and 'forward' is redundant and grammatically incorrect. Simply use the phrasal verb 'put forward'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• At the next team meeting, I plan to ___ to improve our workflow.

  💡 propose an idea

  Show answer

  put forward a suggestion

• Thank you for ___; we will certainly consider it.

  💡 offering a recommendation (gerund form)

  Show answer

  putting forward a suggestion