The verb: offer

[henryh]

Hello there,

I have a question about the usage of the verb 'offer'. Is it possible to use the verb in the 'offer sy to do sg' pattern? The stress is on sy. I know it's okay without it but with it?

Eg: He offered me to go over to his place to settle the argument but I turned him down.
(He meant it as a possibility / suggestion to settle the disagreement.)

Thanks for your replies.

 

[Shakespeare's brother]

In this case, 'offered' could be followed by 'for' to make the sentence adequate, but it's not the most fluent English.

 

[Uncle M]

Offer should be followed by an infinitive form of a verb, or a noun. Problems arise when you try to include both:

He offered to go.
He offered (to) me five pounds.
He offered me five pounds to go.

All the above are OK

But He offered me to go... means you are the object of the offer. It sounds as though he is volunteering your services to someone else.

It would be better to avoid offer and say instead: He suggested that I go...

Hope this helps.

 

[vil]

Hi henryh,

There a few examples concerning the matter in question:

offer somebody something

Can I offer you something to drink?
They offered him a very good job, but he turned it down.

offer something to somebody

Maureen lit a cigarette and offered one to Lucy.
The drama school offers places to students who can show talent.

offer to do something

My dad has offered to pick us up.
The newspaper offered to apologise for the article.
He offered to drive us home.

Regards.

V.