Hey there! This is TOP 355. ASK: Three Patterns You Need to Know
**You read English. You understand English. You’ve been learning for years, but when it’s time to speak your mind just freezes, and the words don’t come out. If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone. My name’s Ola, and this is Teacher Ola Podcast. I’m here to help you finally speak out loud. This isn’t about perfect grammar or fancy vocabulary. This is about your voice. Your words. Your real English.
Hey there! Welcome back to the Teacher Ola Podcast. And I have to tell you, the timing of today’s episode is pretty perfect, because the doors to Say It Out Loud are open again.
If you’ve been learning English for a while, you probably know the word ‘ask’. Of course you do. It’s one of those words you learned a long time ago. You might know ask, but do you automatically say ask about, ask for, or ask someone to do something? Do those structures come to you when you’re speaking, or do you have to stop and think?
And that’s really what Say It Out Loud is about. Not just knowing more English, but making the English you already know easier to access, easier to remember, and easier to use when you need it.
So if you’re ready to work on your speaking, you can join me at siol.pl. The course is open now, and I’d love to have you inside. We’re going to start the program on the 20th October and it is the last chance to join SIOL this year. If you need to check whether the course is the right next step for you now, go to teacherola.com/test. Teacherola.com/test.
***If you’re thinking, “Ola, I’ve learned SO many words already. I just can’t seem to remember them when I need them,” I have something for you too. You can watch the replay of my latest webinar, Autumn English RESET, at teacherola.com/reset.
In that webinar, I show you how to memorise words and expressions so that they don’t just sit somewhere in your notes or in an app. The goal is to make them available when you actually need them, when you’re speaking, writing, or having a conversation.
And today, we’re going to start with one tiny but incredibly useful word: ask.
Let’s get into it.
**Think about how often you say the word “ask” in English. Probably all the time. You ask people questions, you ask for things, you ask people to do things for you. It’s such an ordinary little verb that we don’t really notice it.
And that’s exactly why it’s worth having a closer look at it.
Imagine you’re at a hotel. You might say, “I asked about the swimming pool.” You might say, “I asked for a room with a view.” Or you might say, “I asked the receptionist to change my room.”
We’ve got the same verb in all three sentences, but what comes after ask changes the meaning.
And before we get into that, let’s deal with the past form.
Ask, asked, asked.
The past form is one syllable, and the -ed is pronounced /t/, not as an extra syllable.
I asked him yesterday.
She asked me about it.
We asked them for help.
**Now, let’s start with ‘ask’ somebody about something.
When you ask somebody about something, you’re asking for information about a particular topic.
I asked him about his new job.
She asked me about my holiday.
I asked my colleague about the meeting.
You can ask about almost anything you’re interested in finding out more about: a person, a place, a job, an event, a situation, a price or a possibility.
I wanted to ask you about your trip.
I called to ask about the course.
And you don’t always need to mention the person you’re asking.
I’m calling to ask about the appointment.
I wanted to ask about the price.
So, very simply, ‘ask about’ is what you use when you’re interested in a particular topic.
**Now let’s change one little word: ask for.
When you ask somebody for something, you’re requesting it.
I asked the receptionist for a different room.
You’re not asking for information about the room. You’re asking the receptionist to give you a different room.
And there are lots of very common things we ask for.
I asked for some water.
She asked for help.
He asked for advice.
We asked for directions.
I asked for permission.
They asked for a refund.
Two especially useful chunks are ‘ask for help’ and ‘ask for advice’.
If you need help, just ask for it.
I didn’t know what to do, so I asked my friend for advice.
And then there’s a very common phrase:
Can I ask you for a favour?
You might use it before making a request.
Can I ask you for a favour? I need someone to pick me up from the airport.
It’s a good example of a phrase that’s worth remembering as a complete chunk rather than constructing it word by word every time.
Another very common chunk is:
Can I ask you something?
That’s often simply a way of introducing a question.
Can I ask you something? Why did you leave so early?
You can also say:
Can I ask you a quick question?
So we’ve got ‘ask somebody about’ something when we’re interested in a topic, and ‘ask somebody for’ something when we’re requesting something.
Now let’s look at the third pattern: ‘ask somebody to do something’.
**This is what we use when we want another person to perform an action.
I asked him to call me later.
She asked me to wait.
My boss asked me to send the email again.
They asked us to leave.
The structure is simply ask + person + to + verb.
Ask him to call.
Ask her to wait.
Ask them to help.
Ask me to explain.
And the negative version is just as useful:
I asked him not to tell anyone.
She asked me not to worry.
We asked them not to make too much noise.
Now, here’s where the difference between ask for and ask somebody to do something becomes quite interesting.
Compare these two:
I asked my colleague for help.
I asked my colleague to help me.
They’re very similar, but the structure is different. In the first one, help is the thing you’re requesting. In the second one, you’re asking the person to perform the action.
You can do the same thing with other nouns and verbs.
I asked her for some information.
I asked her to give me some information.
Both are natural.
And this is why I think it’s useful to learn ‘ask’ in these patterns rather than as one isolated vocabulary item.
Ask about the job.
Ask for advice.
Ask somebody to call.
Ask about the price.
Ask for help.
Ask somebody to explain something.
Once you’ve got those patterns in your head, you can use them in hundreds of different situations.
And there’s one more useful point here. You don’t always have to mention the person.
You can say:
I asked about the job.
I asked for more information.
But when you’re asking somebody to perform an action, the person is usually part of the structure:
I asked him to call me.
She asked me to wait.
**And let’s finish with a little bit of practice. Don’t just listen to this part. Say the sentences out loud, I know and you know you can. Listen and repeat out loud. I’ll say each sentence twice.
I asked him about his new job.
I asked my friend for some advice.
I asked my colleague to send me the file.
I asked him to call me.
She asked me about it.
I’m calling to ask about the appointment.
I asked the receptionist for a different room.
They asked for a refund.
Can I ask you for a favour?
I asked him to call me later.
That’s it. Three patterns, three different uses, and all of them are things you can start using immediately.
The next time you hear someone say ‘ask’, don’t just hear the verb. Listen to what comes after it. Ask about. Ask for. Ask somebody to do something.
That’s where you’ll start noticing the patterns becoming automatic.
Hopefully, ask about, ask for, and ask somebody to do something are already feeling a little more natural. And don’t forget to download the worksheet and practise them yourself.
And if you’re thinking about joining Say It Out Loud, the course is open now. You can find out if it’s the right fit for you at teacherola.com/test.
And if you haven’t watched my RESET webinar yet, you can catch the replay at teacherola.com/reset.
Thank you so much for listening. Please rate and review the podcast, subscribe if you haven’t already, and above all: stay fearless, take care, and say it out loud.
I love you, I believe in you, and I know you’re ready to speak English.
I’m your teacher, Teacher Ola. Bye for now.