Phrasal Verbs with ASK: Meanings and Examples

Phrasal verbs are extremely common in everyday English. Native speakers use them all the time in conversation, films, TV series, and informal writing. If you want to sound natural and understand spoken English more easily, learning phrasal verbs is essential. In this lesson, we will look at useful phrasal verbs with the verb “ask.” These expressions are common in daily communication and can help you expand your vocabulary.

Each phrasal verb comes with a clear meaning and example sentences so you can see how it works in real situations.

Let’s begin.

Ask for

Meaning: to request something or ask someone to give you something.

Examples

• Bob asked for one more day off because his flight was cancelled.
• I think you should ask for legal advice about that matter.
• She asked for a glass of water after the long meeting.
• The students asked for more time to finish the test.

Ask after someone

Meaning: to ask about someone’s health or how they are doing.

Examples

• Milly asked after your dad when she heard he had been ill.
• I received an email from Sarah, and she asked after you.
• Our neighbours often ask after my grandmother.

Ask about someone / something

Meaning: to request information about a person, situation, or topic.

Examples

• The biology teacher asked about you the other day.
• The police are asking about the missing car.
• Many students asked about the new course.

Ask around

Meaning: to ask several people for information.

Examples

• They asked around until someone showed them the way.
• When Peter lost his dog, he asked around and even offered a reward.
• If you don’t know the answer, try asking around the office.

Ask someone in

Meaning: to invite someone to enter your home or office.

Examples

• Sheila asked David in for a coffee.
• Don’t leave your friends outside—ask them in!
• The receptionist asked us in and offered us a seat.

Ask someone out

Meaning: to invite someone on a date.

Examples

• I’m thinking about asking Jane out. What do you think?
• He finally asked her out after weeks of hesitation.
• When we were young, I asked your mother out and took her to the cinema.

Ask someone over

Meaning: to invite someone to your house.

Examples

• We asked our neighbours over for dinner.
• She asked me over to watch a film.
• They often ask friends over at the weekend.

Ask someone round (British English)

Meaning: to invite someone to visit your home.

Examples

• We asked our colleagues round for a barbecue.
• Why don’t you ask them round this evening?

Ask someone back

Meaning: to invite someone to return to your home or another place.

Examples

• After dinner, they asked us back for coffee.
• She asked him back to continue their conversation.

Ask someone along

Meaning: to invite someone to join you somewhere.

Examples

• I’m going to the concert tonight. Do you want me to ask Tom along?
• She asked her sister along to the party.

Ask someone up

Meaning: to invite someone to come upstairs or into your flat (often used informally).

Examples

• After dinner, he asked her up for a drink.
• She asked him up to see her new apartment.

Ask someone for something

Meaning: to request something from someone.

Examples

• I asked the teacher for help with the exercise.
• She asked her parents for permission to travel.

Ask someone to do something

Meaning: to request someone to perform an action.

Examples

• The manager asked me to prepare the report.
• She asked him to close the window.
• They asked us to arrive early.

Quick Summary

Here are the most useful phrasal verbs with ASK from this lesson:

• ask for – request something
• ask after – ask about someone’s health
• ask about – ask for information
• ask around – ask many people
• ask in – invite someone inside
• ask out – invite someone on a date
• ask over / ask round – invite someone to your home
• ask back – invite someone to return
• ask along – invite someone to join you
• ask up – invite someone to your flat or upstairs

Learning these expressions will help you understand native speakers more easily and communicate more naturally in everyday English.

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