Inquire about in the question vs inquire if in the answer

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learning54

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Hi teachers,
Accordind to these paragraphs:
Chief,Felix began. How did Dinon escape from prison?
‘That’s not important now,’ the Chief said.
‘But perhaps he had friends in prison,’ Felix said. ‘Perhaps they know something. I need to talk to people at the prison.’

Why is there 'about' after inquire in the question and I can't use 'about' in the answer?
What did Felix want to inquire
about in the prison?
He wanted to inquire
if Dinon had friends in prison and if they knew something.


Thanks in advance.

 
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bhaisahab

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Hi teachers,
Accordind to these paragraphs:
Chief,Felix began. How did Dinon escape from prison?
‘That’s not important now,’ the Chief said.
‘But perhaps he had friends in prison,’ Felix said. ‘Perhaps they know something. I need to talk to people at the prison.’

Why is there 'about' after inquire in the question and I can't use 'about' in the answer?
What did Felix want to inquire
about in the prison?
He wanted to inquire
if Dinon had friends in prison and if they knew something.


Thanks in advance.


You could, you could say "He wanted to inquire about whether Dinon had friends..."
I wouldn't use "inquire", I would use "ask".
 

emsr2d2

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I always find "inquire/enquire about" very clunky in some situations and this is one of them. I would use:

He wanted to enquire as to whether Dinon had any friends.
He wanted to ask whether Dinon had any friends.

I would use "enquire about" in situations like:

I am phoning to enquire about the availability of rooms at your hotel next Saturday evening.
 

learning54

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Hi,
Thank you for your replies.
Then, will it be also possible to ask, 'What did Felix want to investigate in the prison?' besides, 'What did Felix want to ask about in the prison?

TS
 
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emsr2d2

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Hi,
Thank you for your replies.
Then, [STRIKE]will[/STRIKE] is it [STRIKE]be[/STRIKE] also possible to ask, 'What did Felix want to investigate in the prison?' [STRIKE]besides,[/STRIKE] instead of 'What did Felix want to ask about in the prison?

TS

Not really, no. You investigate a crime or similar. You don't really investigate whether people have friends or not.
 

learning54

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Not really, no. You investigate a crime or similar. You don't really investigate whether people have friends or not.
Hi,
Thank you for your corrections. I should have said that Dinon is supposed to be the President's murderer, and Felix the detective that has to find Dinon because he escaped from prison a couple of days ago.

TS
 
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