Posted by rfvv on Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 9:51pm.
He asked me a question.
He asked a question of me.
He begged me a question.
He begged a question of me.
He inquired me a question.
He inquired me of a question.
(Are the pairs all correct and interchangable? Doe they have the same meaning?)
English - Writeacher, Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 9:54pm
The first pair is correct and interchangeable, but the others aren't.
The 3rd sentence is not correct.
The 5th and 6th are not correct. For this, you'd need to say, "He inquired about .... " (The "me" part wouldn't be there.)
English - rfvv, Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 10:08pm
3. He begged me a question.
4. He begged a question of me.
5. He inquired me a question.
6. He inquired a question of me.
(Thank you for your help. #6 should be changed. Among the four sentences, which ones are not grammatical? Is #6 correct?)
English - Writeacher, Sunday, April 10, 2011 at 10:38pm
Among these four sentences, only #4 is correct. The word "inquire" is not used with an indirect object or "to" and an object.
He inquired about my illness.
He inquired about their children.
He inquired about the train fare from Washington to New York.
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7. He demanded a person an answer.
8. He demanded an answer of a person.
(Thank you for your help. What about Sentence 7 and Sentence 8? Are they grammatical?)
#7 is wrong. "He demanded a person TO answer." would be correct. Or "He demanded an answer to his question." He demanded an answer. Person is not the object. Answer is. #8 is grammatically correct.
Sentence 7 and Sentence 8 are not grammatical. When using the verb "demand," it is not followed by a person as the indirect object. Instead, it is followed by the direct object, which is the thing or action being demanded, and not the person.
To correct these sentences, you could say:
7. He demanded an answer from a person.
8. He demanded a person to answer.
In both sentences, the person is the one who provides the answer, not the one being demanded.