enquire

enquire — verb

1. to ask someone for information on a particular topic — for example, asking at a

1.動詞及物 / 不及物B1
釋義

to ask someone for information on a particular topic — for example, asking at a hotel about room availability, or writing to a college to find out about course entry requirements.

例句

Rachid called the library to enquire about the opening hours.

enquire + about + noun phrase

Sumin wrote an email to enquire whether the art course still had places available.

enquire + whether + clause

同義詞
  • ask

    Everyday, neutral word; enquire is slightly more formal and more typical in written or professional contexts.

  • query

    Suggests questioning a specific detail or checking correctness, e.g., querying a bill or a figure.

  • investigate

    Much stronger in depth; implies a systematic examination (enquire into covers a lighter version of this).

反義詞
  • answer

    Answer is the response to an enquiry, not the act of asking.

  • ignore

    To ignore a topic is to make no effort to ask about it.

文法句型

enquire + about + noun phrase

enquire + whether/if + clause

enquire + after + someone (wellbeing)

enquire + into + noun phrase (formal investigation)

用法筆記

Enquire is the standard British English spelling; American English prefers inquire. Within British English, some writers use enquire for everyday asking (e.g., 'enquire about train times') and inquire for formal investigations (e.g., 'inquire into a crime'), though many use them interchangeably. The noun forms follow the same pattern: enquiry (BrE) and inquiry (AmE, or BrE formal).

常見錯誤

❌I need to enquire you about the train schedule.
✅I need to enquire about the train schedule.
💡Enquire is intransitive; you cannot enquire somebody directly. Use ask somebody or enquire of somebody (formal).
❌The police will enquire the robbery.
✅The police will investigate the robbery.' or ✅ 'The police will enquire into the robbery.
💡For a formal investigation, enquire into (+ preposition) or investigate is required.