Ask the menu!

Posted by Pak Guru on November 5th, 2017 | 0 comments | collocation, grammar, minta, prepositions, question forms, tanya, vocabulary

I’ll ask the menu!

Non-native speakers having dinner!

 This is a common mistake made by Indonesians translating ‘tanya‘ instead of ‘minta‘.
The options in English are (take a deep breath!):

1. I’ll ask the waiter. (ask someone)
2. I’ll ask the waiter to bring us the menu. (ask someone to do something)
3. I’ll ask the waiter about the menu. (ask someone about something/someone)
4. I’ll ask the waiter for the menu. (ask someone for something)
5. I’ll ask for the menu. (ask for something/someone)

Most native speakers would probably use Number 5.
Notice that ask something is not in this list. The picture below shows what might happen if you ask the menu!

Most menus cannot answer questions!

 Possibly there are different ways to translate the correct forms into Indonesian. I know that I’m never confident when using tanya and minta in Indonesian. If you have any suggestions, please share in the comments box below!