(also inquiry esp. in AmE ) noun
1 ( esp. BrE ) official investigation
ADJECTIVE
▪ detailed , thorough
▪ full , full-scale , major
▪ initial , preliminary
▪ immediate
▪ ongoing
▪ open , public
▪ confidential
▪ internal
▪ independent
▪ joint
▪
a joint ~ undertaken by the two departments
▪ formal , official
▪ informal
▪ congressional , government , judicial , parliamentary ( in the UK ), police
▪ disciplinary ( BrE )
▪ criminal
▪ fatal-accident , fraud , murder , etc. (all BrE )
VERB + ENQUIRY
▪ carry out ( esp. BrE ), conduct , have , hold , undertake
▪ announce
▪
The governor announced an ~ into the events.
▪ begin , establish , initiate , launch , open , set up , start
▪
Police have launched a murder ~.
▪ complete
▪ adjourn ( BrE )
▪ reopen
▪ call for , demand
▪
Newspapers are calling for a full independent ~ into the affair.
▪ order
▪
The government has ordered a public ~ into the affair.
▪ be subjected to , face
▪
You may be subjected to a disciplinary ~.
▪ attend ( BrE )
▪ be involved in
▪ chair , head , lead
▪
The ~ will be chaired by a judge.
ENQUIRY + VERB
▪ be underway , take place
▪
A major ~ is underway after the death of a union official.
▪
The ~ will take place behind closed doors.
▪ begin , commence , start
▪ hear sth
▪
The ~ heard this week that the crash was unavoidable.
▪ consider sth , examine sth , investigate sth
▪ reveal sth
▪ conclude sth , establish sth , find sth
▪
An ~ found that the vintage plane was in good working order.
▪ rule sth ( BrE )
▪
The ~ ruled that the cars should be fitted with bigger bumpers.
▪ blame sb/sth
ENQUIRY + NOUN
▪ report
▪ team
▪ process
PREPOSITION
▪ at an/the ~
▪
At the ~ they maintained that nothing illegal had been done.
▪ during an/the ~ , in an/the ~
▪
arguments during the ~
▪ pending an ~
▪
The director has been suspended, pending an internal ~.
▪ ~ by
▪
the outcome of enquiries by the police
▪ ~ into
▪
an ~ into the environmental effects of the proposed new road
PHRASES
▪ a steward's ~ (in horse racing)
▪ the outcome of an ~ , the result of an ~
▪ the subject of an ~
▪
He now finds himself the subject of an ~ after reports of financial irregularities.
2 ( esp. BrE ) request for information
ADJECTIVE
▪ exhaustive , extensive , thorough
▪
I've made exhaustive enquiries, but haven't been able to find what I want.
▪ detailed
▪ general , specific
▪
Our office is open every day and can help you with all your general enquiries.
▪ discreet
▪ informal
▪ routine
▪ initial , preliminary
▪ customer , media
▪ door-to-door , house-to-house (both BrE )
▪
Police officers carried out house-to-house enquiries.
▪ email , phone , telephone , written
… OF ENQUIRIES
▪ flood , stream
▪
After the disaster, the police had a flood of enquiries about missing relatives.
VERB + ENQUIRY
▪ make , pursue
▪
The police are still pursuing their enquiries. ( BrE )
▪ send
▪ welcome
▪
The faculty welcomes enquiries from prospective entrants.
▪ get , have , receive
▪
We've had many enquiries from concerned customers.
▪ be inundated with
▪ answer , deal with , handle , respond to
▪ assist (sb) in/with , help (sb) in/with
▪
Police believe he can help them with their enquiries into a robbery.
ENQUIRY + NOUN
▪ desk , office (both BrE )
▪ service ( BrE )
▪ form
▪
You are requested to complete an ~ form.
PREPOSITION
▪ pending ~
▪
She has been released on bail pending further enquiries.
▪ ~ about , ~ as to , ~ concerning , ~ regarding , ~ relating to
▪
enquiries as to the whereabouts of Eve Smith
▪ ~ by
▪
enquiries by police
▪ ~ from
▪
enquiries from the public
▪ ~ into
▪
I'm making enquiries into the possibility of going by train.
PHRASES
▪ direct an ~ to sb
▪
The committee directed its enquiries to Mrs Taylor.
3 asking questions/collecting information
ADJECTIVE
▪ careful , systematic
▪ further
▪ academic , intellectual , scholarly
▪ critical , empirical , rational , serious
▪ free , open
▪
We should proceed in a spirit of open ~.
▪ historical , philosophical , scientific , sociological , theological
▪
The purpose is one of scientific ~.
VERB + ENQUIRY
▪ encourage
▪
The subjects on the curriculum encourage intellectual ~.
PREPOSITION
▪ ~ concerning , ~ into
▪
~ into the origins of the universe
PHRASES
▪ an area of ~
▪
The purpose of the research is to open up this area of ~.
▪ a board of ~ , a commission of ~ , a committee of ~
▪ a line of ~
▪
The police have assured us that all possible lines of ~ are being pursued.
▪ a method of ~
▪
Methods of ~ vary from subject to subject.
▪ a spirit of ~
▪
Children are born with a spirit of ~.