enquire
/ɪnˈkwaɪə(r)/verb
reporting verb
1- ask for information from someone打听, 询问:
with direct speech 'How well do you know Berlin?' he enquired of Hencke.“你熟悉柏林吗?”他问亨克。
with clause I enquired where he lived我问了他的住址
no obj. he enquired about cottages for sale.他询问了待售小楼的情况。
1.1
- no obj.
enquire after
ask about the health and well-being of (someone)向…问好, 问候: Angus enquired after her parents.
安格斯向她父母问好。
1.2
- no obj.
enquire for
ask to see or speak to (someone)求见(某人); 要求与…谈话: that was Mr Paul enquiring for you-I told him he couldn't come in.
是保罗先生要见你——我没让他进来。
1.3
- no obj.
enquire into
investigate; look into调查; 查究: the task of political sociology is to enquire into the causes of political events.
政治社会学的任务就是对政治事件的原因进行调查。
USAGE
The traditional distinction between enquire and inquire is that enquire is used for general senses of 'ask' while inquire is reserved for uses meaning 'make a formal investigation'. In practice, however, there little discernible distinction in the way the two words are used today in British English, although inquiry is commoner than enquiry in the sense 'a formal investigation'. In all senses inquire and inquiry are the more usual forms in US English, whereas enquire and enquiry are chiefly restricted to British English.
派生词
enquirer
noun词源
Middle English enquere, from Old French enquerre, based on Latin inquirere (based on quaerere 'seek').