Which is correct?

The first examples are correct, but my Word (2003) doesn't object to any of them.

Word

Julie Worth said:

The first examples are correct, but my Word (2003) doesn't object to any of them.

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I'm starting to think Word 2003 doesn't object to anything. I find dozens of grammar problems that Word 2003 doesn't flag. The one thing Word 2007 has is a somewhat better grammar check.

They all look fine to me, so I would suggest the last two only because you can cut a few words.

"I motioned to the others to follow me."

Versions

But, yes, the first two are correct.

Since I'm in the minutiae (yes, it's genetic, I can't prevent it; I'm dogged and haunted ), I can tell you why examples three and four are incorrect.

He motioned Jessica to keep talking.

"Motioned" here is transitive, that is, it has an object "Jessica"; however, motioned in the transitive means to direct by making a gesture, which isn't the same as the intransitive "motioned" (not requiring an object) which means to signal by making a gesture.

Likewise, "He motioned Jessica to his seat" is correct, while "He motioned to Jessica to his seat" is not.

To quote Medievalist, "The dictionary is the writer's best friend."

http://dictionary.reference.com/