Ask vs Let - What's the difference?
ask | let |
To request (information, or an answer to a question).
To put forward (a question) to be answered.
To interrogate or enquire of (a person).
* Bible, John ix. 21
To request or petition; usually with for .
* Bible, Matthew vii. 7
To require, demand, claim, or expect, whether by way of remuneration or return, or as a matter of necessity.
* Addison
To invite.
To publish in church for marriage; said of both the banns and the persons.
(figuratively) To take (a person's situation) as an example.
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An act or instance of asking.
* 2005 , Laura Fredricks, The ask :
Something asked or asked for; a request.
* 2008 , Doug Fields, Duffy Robbins, Speaking to Teenagers :
An asking price.
An eft; newt.
* 1876 , S. Smiles, Scottish Naturalist :
A lizard.
(label) To allow to, not to prevent (+ infinitive, but usually without (to)).
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*(Bible), (w) viii. 28
*:Pharaoh said, I will let you go.
*(William Shakespeare) (c.1564–1616)
*:If your name be Horatio, as I am let to know it is
*1971 , , (The Tombs of Atuan)
*:He could not be let die of thirst there alone in the dark.
*{{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)
, volume=189, issue=2, page=27, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly)
, title= To leave.
:
*(Edmund Spenser) (c.1552–1599)
*:Yet neither spins nor cards, ne cares nor frets, / But to her mother Nature all her care she lets .
(label) To allow the release of (a fluid).
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(label) To allow possession of (a property etc.) in exchange for rent.
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(label) To give, grant, or assign, as a work, privilege, or contract; often with out .
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(label)
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To cause (+ bare infinitive).
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*:
*1818 , (John Keats), "To—":
*:Time's sea hath been five years at its slow ebb, / Long hours have to and fro let creep the sand.
(archaic) To hinder, prevent; to obstruct (someone or something).
* Bible, 2. Thessalonians ii. 7
* Tennyson
(obsolete) To prevent or obstruct (to) do something, or (that) something happen.
* 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Acts VIII:
An obstacle or hindrance.
*, II.16:
*:Paulus Emilius'' going to the glorious expedition of ''Macedon'', advertised the people of ''Rome'' during his absence not to speake of his actions: ''For the licence of judgements is an especiall let in great affaires.
*Latimer
*:Consider whether your doings be to the let of your salvation or not.
(tennis) The hindrance caused by the net during serve, only if the ball falls legally.
As verbs the difference between ask and let
is that ask is to request (information, or an answer to a question) while let is to allow to, not to prevent (+ infinitive, but usually without {{term|to}}).As nouns the difference between ask and let
is that ask is an act or instance of asking while let is an obstacle or hindrance.As a proper noun Ask
is the first male human, according to the Poetic Edda.ask
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) asken, from (etyl) .Verb
(en verb)- I asked her age.
- to ask a question
- I'm going to ask this lady for directions.
- He is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself.
- to ask for a second helping at dinner
- to ask for help with homework
- Ask , and it shall be given you.
- What price are you asking for the house?
- An exigence of state asks a much longer time to conduct a design to maturity.
- Don't ask them to the wedding.
- (Fuller)
Usage notes
* This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive . See * Pronouncing ask as /æks/ is a common example of metathesis and a feature of some varieties of English, notably African American Vernacular English (AAVE). * The action expressed by the verb ask'' can also be expressed by the noun-verb combination ''pose a question'' (confer the parallel in German between ''fragen'' and ''eine Frage stellen ).Derived terms
* ask after * ask around * ask for * ask in * ask out * ask over * ask round * for the asking * no questions asked * outaskNoun
(en noun)- To ask for a gift is a privilege, a wonderful expression of commitment to and ownership of the organization. Getting a yes to an ask can be a rush, but asking for the gift can and should be just as rewarding.
- Communication researchers call this the foot-in-the-door syndrome. Essentially it's based on the observation that people who respond positively to a small “ask'” are more likely to respond to a bigger “' ask ” later on.
Etymology 2
From (etyl) aske, arske, from (etyl) .Alternative forms
*Noun
(en noun)- He looked at the beast. It was not an eel. It was very like an ask .
Statistics
*let
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) leten, .Verb
The tao of tech, passage=The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about […], or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing",
- Soo within a whyle kynge Pellinore cam with a grete hoost / and salewed the peple and the kyng / and ther was grete ioye made on euery syde / Thenne the kyng lete serche how moche people of his party ther was slayne / And ther were founde but lytel past two honderd men slayne and viij kny?tes of the table round in their pauelions
Synonyms
* (to allow) allow, permitUsage notes
The use of "let" to introduce an imperative may sometimes be confused with its use, as its own imperative , in the sense of "to allow". For example, the sentence "Let me go to the store." could either be a second-person imperative of "let" (addressing someone who might prevent the speaker from going to the store) or a first-person singular imperative of "go" (not implying any such preventer).Etymology 2
(etyl) . More at late, delay.Verb
- He who now letteth' will ' let , until he be taken out of the way.
- Mine ancient wound is hardly whole, / And lets me from the saddle.
- And as they went on their waye, they cam unto a certayne water, and the gelded man sayde: Se here is water, what shall lett me to be baptised?