ask something from somebody.

[Tae-Bbong-E]

Hi,

I studied "ask". According the Oxford dictionary Definition. 3 of ask is [intransitive, transitive] to say that you would like somebody to give you something.
Also sentence patterns are like these.

*ask for something
I asked for his advice.

*ask something
I asked his advice

*ask somebody for something
I asked him for advice.

*ask something of somebody
I asked [STRIKE]him[/STRIKE] advice of [STRIKE]advice[/STRIKE] him

*ask somebody something
I asked him advice.


However, I read a certain explanation saying "ask something from somebody" is also grammatically possible.
For example)
aa) I asked advice from him.

Is aa) sentence is grammatically possible?

 

[probus]

Hi,

I studied "ask". According the Oxford dictionary Definition. 3 of ask is [intransitive, transitive] to say that you would like somebody to give you something.
Also sentence patters are like these.

*ask for something
I asked for his advice.:tick:

*ask something
I asked his advice.:tick:

*ask somebody for something
I asked him for advice.:tick:

*ask something of somebody
I asked him of advice.:cross:

*ask somebody something
I asked him advice.:cross:


However, I read a certain explanation saying "ask something from somebody" is also grammatically possible.
For example)
aa) I asked advice from him.

Is aa) sentence is grammatically possible?

The sentence aa) is grammatical but in my opinion less natural than the other correct choices above.

 

[Skrej]

*ask something of somebody
I asked him of advice. You flipped the order of something/somebody in the pattern, which is why Probus marked your example as incorrect. If you'd kept to the order in the pattern, it would read "I asked advice of him', which is grammatical.

See above. Your example is okay if you rearrange it to follow the pattern.

 

[Tae-Bbong-E]

Oops I am so sorry. While I was writing this post, I might have been drowsy. Next time I will be careful of it. Again I am sorry.

By the way, as you can the screen dump below, I can see the sentence pattern.
*ask somebody something
Can I ask you a favour?

Nevertheless, do you think this sentence is still wrong?
Maybe should I use possessives such as ‘his’ or definite article such as ‘the’ before the noun ‘advice’?

I asked him advice. :cross:

As probus left X (wrong) mark, I am wondering why it is not acceptable.

 

[probus]

As Skrej pointed out I asked advice of him is fine, albeit somewhat old-fashioned in my opinion. So is I asked advice from him. And as your dictionary says I asked his advice is also fine. But a native speaker would never say I asked him advice. Read carefully. Him is quite different from his.

 

[jutfrank]

I asked him advice. :cross:
I asked advice of him. :cross:
I asked him for advice. :tick:

(I'm surprised people would think I asked advice of him is okay.)

 

[Skrej]

By the way, as you can the screen dump below, I can see the sentence pattern.
*ask somebody something
Can I ask you a favour?

Nevertheless, do you think this sentence is still wrong?
Maybe should I use possessives such as ‘his’ or definite article such as ‘the’ before the noun ‘advice’?

I asked him advice. :cross:

As probus left X (wrong) mark, I am wondering why it is not acceptable

That pattern works with some nouns, but not others. For example, you could say 'I asked him the time/the price/today's date/his name'', but not "I asked him advice". At the moment, I can't really tell you how to determine what would work and what wouldn't. I do think you're on to something about the need for an article or modifier. Note my examples all have them.

Perhaps that is what makes 'I asked him advice' seem strange, although it's technically grammatical.

 

[Andromeda]

(I'm surprised people would think I asked advice of him is okay.)

Google's Ngram viewer shows that "advice" has been used in that fashion since the Romantic period; it peaked in the Victorian era. It is still around in some dialects. For instance,

1. In 1 Kings 12:7-9 New American Bible (Revised Edition), it is said, "But he ignored the advice the elders had given him, and asked advice of the young men who had grown up with him and were in his service."

2. Over the years, I have read books and asked advice of experts in this field. (https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2002/12/time-wasters-managing-your-most-precious-resource).

3. I even asked advice of the guy impersonating George Washington at nearby Colonial Williamsburg. [5.5.2008, New York Times]: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/sports/golf/05pennington.html.

4. "Thomas, warned by previous experience, asked advice of his father..." (pg. 122, A History of Sir John Deane's Grammar School, Northwich, 1557-1908)

 

[tedmc]

I think bible language even those rewritten in contemporary English are based on the Old English version and tends to be rather old-fashioned.

 

[tedmc]

Rover
Instead of deleting my post completely, wouldn't it be more constructive to point out where I went wrong ?
Is there a rule to say that ungrammatical posts are to be deleted?

 

[Rover_KE]

After the OP has been answered, you can give your personal opinions and/or propose alternative solutions which we will correct as and when we have time.

From the Posting Guidelines:

About Replying to Posts:

You are welcome to answer questions posted in the Ask a Teacher forum as long as your suggestions, help, and advice reflect a good understanding of the English language. If you are not a teacher, you will need to state that clearly in your post. Please note, all posts are moderated by our in-house language experts, so make sure your suggestions, help, and advice provide the kind of information an international language teacher would offer. If not, and your posts do not contribute to the topic in a positive way, they will be subject to deletion.

 

[Andromeda]

What is an OP?

 

[GoesStation]

What is an OP?

"Original post/poster".

 

[tzfujimino]

Rover
Instead of deleting my post completely, wouldn't it be more constructive to point out where I went wrong ?
Is there a rule to say that ungrammatical posts are to be deleted?

Off-topic
If I remember it correctly, you made a post to the effect that the Bible is written in Old English and its phrasing sounds old-fashioned.

... and, yes, I think the post contained a typo (=I think you meant "even though", but you wrote something else.) and a punctuation error.

 

[GoesStation]

If I remember it correctly, you made a post to the effect that the Bible is written in Old English and its phrasing sounds old-fashioned.

The Bible was written in a variety of languages including Hebrew, Aramaic, and Koine Greek. Common English translations are in early modern to modern English. Old English is completely incomprehensible to all but a few highly-trained modern English speakers.

The King James Version of the Bible, published in 1611, is still widely used despite being only partially comprehensible to untrained modern readers. It's full of beautiful but obscure phrases like through a glass, darkly (translated as "reflected dimly in a mirror" in the New English Bible) which may provide spiritual guidance to believers but don't tell them what the authors meant. Much of its vocabulary and usage is archaic, so it's a poor model for students of modern English.

 

[Rover_KE]

In view of the fact that members have found time to make corrections I have reopened Ted's post.

 

[probus]

Much of its vocabulary and usage is archaic, so it's a poor model for students of modern English.

Yes indeed. Consider also The Lord's Prayer. I believe in the King James Version it starts off "Our Father, which art in heaven ...". Were it not for my heavily religious early education I'd think that was written by a non-native speaker of English.

 

[tzfujimino]

In view of the fact that members have found time to make corrections I have reopened Ted's post.

Thank you.
I didn't remember it correctly.

 

[tedmc]

Okay, I have fixed the subject-verb agreements (something I tend to overlook) here:

I think the bible language, even of those bibles rewritten in contemporary English, is based on the Old English version and tends to be rather old-fashioned.

 

[emsr2d2]

"The bible language" doesn't work, tedmc.