verb
1 put a question to sb
ADVERB
▪ gently , quietly , softly
▪
‘How do you feel?’ she ~ed softly.
▪ conversationally , politely , sweetly
▪
‘Did you sleep well?’ he ~ed politely.
▪ eagerly , excitedly
▪ angrily , bluntly , coldly , crossly ( esp. BrE ), impatiently , irritably , sarcastically , sharply , slyly
▪ calmly , casually , coolly , drily , innocently , nonchalantly
▪
‘Oh, Sue went too, did she?’ I ~ed innocently (= pretending I did not know that this was important) .
▪ curiously , doubtfully , incredulously , inquisitively , pointedly , quizzically , sceptically/skeptically , suspiciously , warily
▪ anxiously , apprehensively , concernedly , fearfully , nervously , timidly , worriedly
▪
‘Will he be all right?’ Sabrina ~ed anxiously.
▪ cautiously , hesitantly , tentatively , uncertainly
▪ hopefully
▪
‘Do you still want to go out tonight?’ she ~ed hopefully.
▪ jokingly , teasingly
▪ legitimately
▪
Voters can legitimately ~ whose interests are being served by the new legislation.
▪
An interviewer may legitimately ~ a candidate about current use of illegal drugs
VERB + ASK
▪ want to
▪
She wanted to ~ Mary if she knew what was wrong.
▪
I wanted to ~ him a question.
▪ dare (to)
▪
I wondered how old she was but I didn't dare ~.
▪ forget to
▪
I completely forgot to ~ his name.
PREPOSITION
▪ about
▪
He ~ed about her family.
PHRASES
▪ get ~ed sth
▪
I often get ~ed that.
▪ if you don't mind me ~ing , if you don't mind my ~ing
▪
How old are you—if you don't mind my ~ing?
2 request sth
ADVERB
▪ nicely
▪
If you ~ her nicely, she'll give you a hand.
▪ specifically
▪
He specifically ~ed for information on the subject.
PREPOSITION
▪ for
▪
I'm not ~ing for money.
Ask is used with these nouns as the subject: ↑ email , ↑ interviewer , ↑ judge , ↑ letter , ↑ petition , ↑ poll , ↑ survey , ↑ voice
Ask is used with these nouns as the object: ↑ advice , ↑ blessing , ↑ court , ↑ direction , ↑ expert , ↑ favour , ↑ forgiveness , ↑ indulgence , ↑ judge , ↑ name , ↑ opinion , ↑ panel , ↑ pardon , ↑ participant , ↑ permission , ↑ question , ↑ way