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up vote 2 down vote favorite

... and I want to advise they, too, come for a session.

... and I want to advise that they, too, come for a session.

The first is how I first wrote it. Do I need that?

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It's a "busy" sentence anyway (without even knowing what comes before your first comma), so I would keep "that" to make it easier for the reader to parse. – FumbleFingers Oct 20 '11 at 15:59
It seemed a bit more fluid without out it, but, yes, it makes it easier to parse. The 'comes before' part is busy too. In essence, 'Your sessions are great. I have found another person, and I want to advise they, too, come.' – Bobbi Bennett Oct 20 '11 at 16:14

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

I think there are two patterns for "advise":

 advise [somebody] that (sentence)

eg

 He advised them that they should object
 He advised that somebody should follow them

and 

advise somebody to (non-finite clause)

eg

 He advised them to object

Your second example is my first pattern, but I do not find your first pattern to be grammatical.

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I don't really think it's really a matter of "grammaticality". In Shakespeare's King Lear, Act 4, Scene 5 we have Therefore I do advise you, take this note, where I don't think the comma makes any difference (nor did Samuel Johnson in the link). – FumbleFingers Oct 20 '11 at 17:24
I think the comma does make a difference, but I see what you mean about Johnson. It appears that it was grammatical in Johnson's day, but I do not find it so now. – Colin Fine Oct 21 '11 at 11:21
1  
Perhaps we have different ideas on what "grammatical" means. All permutations (that before you, or to/comma/nothing after it) seem grammatical to me. Some might be dated or otherwise unusual, but really that's all just style. – FumbleFingers Oct 21 '11 at 13:43
up vote 2 down vote

Both work, though they sound rather clunky. Both require some processing, but the second one is easier to read, IMO. I would write something like:

  • and my advice is...
  • and I [want to/would] advise them to also come for a session.
  • and I would recommend they also come for a session.
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