# FR: Demander à



## nath1

Hi all , is "demander à plus the infinitive" an idiom in french. In my grammer book it says it is a tansative verb, buy here it has a prposition. confused . cheers


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## Fragga

demander qch à qu = ask sthing to sone = transitive
demander à + inf = ex.: he's asking to go, he's asking to stay, etc.


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## superbobthebest

Je demande les fleurs - I ask for flowers

Je demande à Paul - I ask Paul

Je demande à Paul d'acheter les fleurs - I ask Paul to buy flowers.

Je demande à se joindre au pique-nique - I ask to go on the picnic.

I hope these examples help.


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## Bakachan

For example :
Il a _demandé _du pain _à_ son voisin de table.
Il a _demandé à_ partir plus tôt.


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## jann

In French, "transitive" just means the verb can take an object, but it doesn't indicate whether that object is direct or indirect.  (In English, a "transitive" verb takes a direct object, and verbs that take only indirect objects or no objects at all are called "intransitive.")

The person you ask is an INDIRECT object in french, hence the preposition "à":  _demander à quelqu'un_
The thing that you are asking for may be a DIRECT object, or it may be a verbal phrase:

_demander un service à quelqu'un_ (to someone for a favor, or to put it in parallel structure, to ask a favor of someone)
_demander à quelqu'un de faire quelque chose_ (to ask someone to do something)

As others pointed out, there is also the structure _demander à + infinitive_ for asking permission...


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## nath1

Thanks for that, but is Demander à infinitive , transative or intransative? I thought verbs that had a preposition following it were normally intransitive? Another example "arriver à infinitive" Just seen your response jann, that makes it clearer. cheers


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## Iarna_Alba

Hi everybody,
Can I say "je demande le silence à vous" or " je demande à vous de tenir le silence"?


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## Fleetmoon

How would you say "*Demander à*" at the beginning of the sentence:

*Demander à *ce qu'il soit là n'est pas une bonne idée.

Asking him to be there isn't..

To ask him to be there isn't..

??

Thanks


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## USMeg

I must disagree with your definition of transitive.  In English, transitive means it takes a *direct *object.  The whole ask of (a person)/ask for (something) doesn't seem to translate directly between English and French.


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## jann

Thanks for the correction about English transitive verbs, USMeg.  You are quite correct about the _English_ usage of the word "transitive" and I will fix my post above to clarify. 

French verbs, however, are indeed considered "transitive" if they take an object, regardless of whether the object is direct or indirect.


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## Punky Zoé

superbobthebest said:


> Je demande des fleurs - I ask for flowers
> Je demande à *me *joindre au pique-nique - I ask to go on the picnic.





Iarna_Alba said:


> Can I say "je demande le silence à vous" or " je demande à vous de tenir le silence"?


_Je vous demande le silence ou je vous demande de garder (le) silence ou je vous demande de faire silence_


jann said:


> French verbs, however, are indeed considered "transitive" if they take an object, regardless of whether the object is direct or indirect.


I think it depends on grammarians, some may say verbe _transitif direct (C.O.D.) ou verbe transitif indirect (C.O.I.) _other don't and say verbe transitif (C.O.D.) ou verbe intransitif (C.O.I.).


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## roymail

jann said:


> Thanks for the correction about English transitive verbs, USMeg. You are quite correct about the _English_ usage of the word "transitive" and I will fix my post above to clarify.
> 
> French verbs, however, are indeed considered "transitive" if they take an object, regardless of whether the object is direct or indirect.


 
La notion est discutée. 
Certains grammairiens définissent _transitif _comme _ayant un complément *direct. *_D'autres parlent de verbes intransitifs (qui s'emploient sans complément d'objet), transitifs directs ou transitifs indirects.
Si vous dites *transitif direct,* vous êtes sûr d'être bien compris !
.


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## Maître Capello

Back to nath1's original question, I'd agree to say _demander à_ + <infinitive> is an *idiom* in French since the verb _demander_ is essentially *transitive*: it cannot take an indirect object without a direct one. (If there is apparently no direct object with an indirect one, it is because the direct one is implied…)

_J'ai demandé à voir le directeur._ (idiom)
_J'ai demandé un peu d'argent à ma mère.
J'ai demandé un peu d'argent.
J'ai demandé à ma mère. _(the direct object is missing; it is possibly implied)


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## Fleetmoon

How would you say "*Demander à*" at the beginning of the sentence:

*Demander à *ce qu'il soit là n'est pas une bonne idée.

Asking him to be there isn't..

To ask him to be there isn't..

??

Thanks


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