https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/common-verbs/ask-and-ask-for says that "to ask" is used for questions and "to ask for/to" is used for requests (the 1st with nouns, the 2nd with verbs). However, the link says nothing about "to ask something of somebody"
I have recently read:
- I want to ask a few things of you guys
- I asked my sister for some favors
In both sentences, one asks someone to do something (things/favors). I assume that "to ask something of somebody" expresses a request, similar to "to ask somebody for something ". What is the exact difference between them ?
I also assume that the sentence could be reworded to use "to ask to"? eg. I want to ask you guys to do a few things.