“She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction.”

You are introducing a speaker at a conference. She is a well-known writer who has won awards. You're listing her accomplishments. You say one of the accomplishments on the list:

She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction.

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“Once upon a time, there was a kingdom ruled by a kind and beautiful queen.”

You're reading a children's book to your child. It's a fairy tale. You read the first line of the book, which says:

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom ruled by a kind and beautiful queen.

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“When you go in his office, there are books scattered all around.”

You've visited the office of one of your college professors. Now you're describing what his office is like to another student who's never been in there. You say:

When you go in his office, there are books scattered all around.

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“To make matters worse, one of the books I need is checked out.”

You have a big research paper due for school in 2 days, and you're worried that you won't be able to make the deadline. You're complaining to one of your classmates who you're working with. You've just listed two problems that are making it hard for you to finish your paper. Now you say:

To make matters worse, one of the books I need is checked out.

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“I highly recommend it.”

You're talking with a friend about a book that you read recently. You really liked it, and you think your friend should read it to. You say:

I highly recommend it.

I highly recommend (something)

To suggest that a person should do something, say "I recommend ___". For example:

I recommend the cheese fries. They're amazing!

I recommend hiring a lawyer early on in the process, to make sure that you don't miss anything important.

As you can see, you can either say "I recommend (noun)" or "I recommend (doing something)".

When you use this phrase, it just sounds like a simple suggestion. It doesn't sound especially bossy, polite, helpful, or rude.

It's common to include an adverb before "recommend". The most common ones are:

• highly
• strongly
• generally

  Doctors generally recommend keeping the sprain elevated, applying ice packs, and wrapping the area up tightly.

“I couldn't put it down.”

You're talking to your friend about a book that you recently read. It was a really good book, so you stayed awake late at night reading it every night. You tell your friend:

I couldn't put it down.

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“Oh my goodness. It was so moving, by the end I was tearing up.”

You're talking with your friend about a book you read. The book was very emotional and dramatic. You say:

Oh my goodness. It was so moving, by the end I was tearing up.

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“I interpreted that as a sign that he was letting her go.”

You're talking with a friend about a novel that you both read. You're discussing something that happened near the end of the book, and your friend explained what he thought it meant. You have a different idea about what it meant. You say:

I interpreted that as a sign that he was letting her go.

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“She was promoting her new book.”

You went to a talk given by a business book author last night. You are telling your friend about the event and the speaker. You explain why she gave the talk by saying:

She was promoting her new book.

promote (something)

To "promote" a creative work means to do things like talks, radio interviews, press conferences, and book signings in order to tell more people about your work. Things that people "promote" include:

promote your book

promote a movie

promote your new album