There are different types of verbs. Transitive verbs take a direct object. For instance, you say, “I read the book” and “they saw the game.” On the other hand, intransitive verbs need no direct object.<\/p>\n
This is why you can say “I jumped” or “they ran,” and you would have a complete sentence consisting of only two words.<\/p>\n
However, some verbs fail to fall into the different categories easily, making it hard to know how to use them definitively. A case in point is the verb “inquire,” which is neither transitive<\/a><\/strong> nor intransitive<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n But, before we explain what “inquire” is, let’s look at a few use cases first, starting with how to use “inquire about something” in a sentence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n “To inquire about something” means to ask about it. So, when you “inquire about the game,” you are asking about the game, and a synonymous sentence would be, “he asked about the game.” Nevertheless, “ask” and “inquire” are not always interchangeable, and we will see why in a minute.<\/strong><\/p>\n It is also worth noting that there is a certain sense of ambiguity.<\/p>\n In other words, when you say “he inquired about the game,” it’s not exactly clear what he asked about. Was he asking what time the game started? Or, did he want to know who was playing?<\/p>\n Perhaps, he just wanted to know whether there were any tickets left. These are all unanswered possibilities.<\/p>\n To make matters clearer, you should say “he inquired about the time of the game,” “he inquired about who was playing in the game,” or “he inquired about whether there were any tickets left.”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The expression “to inquire about something” is composed of two parts. You have the verb “to inquire,” and then there is the prepositional phrase “about something” that acts as the verb’s complement.<\/p>\n The prepositional phrase in itself is also worth looking at closely. The noun that follows the preposition, “the something,” can be a noun or even a nominal phrase, and the entire expression still holds.<\/p>\n Let me clarify this last part with the following examples.<\/p>\n In the first example, the “something” being inquired about is the noun “the weather.”<\/p>\n However<\/a><\/strong>, in the second example, the “something” is the nominal phrase “what the weather would be like tomorrow.” This is fine because nominal phrases behave like nouns.<\/p>\n Not necessarily. You can use “inquire” without a prepositional phrase, but you will have to use a nominal phrase. You can’t use a noun on its own.<\/p>\n WRONG:<\/strong> “He inquired the weather.”<\/p>\n CORRECT:<\/strong> “He inquired what the weather would be tomorrow.”<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n And<\/a><\/strong>, here lies the nuance.<\/p>\n The complements of “inquire” can be one of two things. They can be direct objects, in which case they must be sentential.<\/p>\n This means that they have to come in clause form, something that defines nominal phrases.<\/p>\nHow do you use “inquire about something” in a sentence?<\/h2>\n
A closer look at “inquire about something”<\/h2>\n
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Does “inquire” need to always be followed by a prepositional phrase?<\/h3>\n