This is the question he asked of me.

[tufguy]

"This is the question he asked of me."

Please check.

 

[Tarheel]

Delete "of" in that sentence.

 

[GoesStation]

Tufguy, you ask a question. If you leave out the word "question", you can ask something of someone. The latter usage is less common.

 

[tufguy]

Tufguy, you ask a question. If you leave out the word "question", you can ask something of someone. The latter usage is less common.

Okay, we cannot say "I want to ask a question of him" or "I want to ask a question of you" or "he asked a question of me" but we can say "I want to ask this of him".

If somebody asks me something that I am not sure about and I want to confirm it with my father, mother or friend, so can I say to that person "I will have to ask this of my father, mother or friend?"

 

[tufguy]

Nobody is going to shoot you if you use 'of', but it's unnatural.

But it can be used when we don't use the word question, right? Like in my second example.

 

[GoesStation]

Okay, we cannot say "I want to ask a question of him" or "I want to ask a question of you" or "he asked a question of me" but we can say "I want to ask this of him".

If somebody asks me something that I am not sure about and I want to confirm it with my father, mother or friend, so can I say to that person "I will have to ask this of my father, mother or friend?"

Yes, you can. It's more natural, and simpler, to say I will have to ask my father.

 

[Tarheel]

Bob: When is Sharon coming home?
Rob: I don't know, but my sister knows. I'll ask her.

 

[tufguy]

Bob: When is Sharon coming home?
Rob: I don't know, but my sister knows. I'll ask her.

Sorry guys but my question was "I will have to ask this of my father." Could you please tell whether it is correct to use "of" when we are not using the word "question"?

 

[tufguy]

Have you read posts 5 and 7?

Okay, so it is unnatural to use "of" with or without using the word "question".

 

[GoesStation]

Okay, so it is unnatural to use "of" with or without using the word "question".

A statement like I'm going to ask a question of my father is always wrong. It's not necessarily unnatural to say I'm going to ask it of him, but a student of English as a second language should avoid this construction.