Can I use 'ask' and 'ask for' interchangeably? For example, there's no difference whatsoever (including stylistic difference) between 'ask forgiveness' and 'ask for forgiveness', is there?
1 Answer
Generally, you can't. For example, if you replace the phrase 'ask a question' with 'ask for a question', it will turn question into requested thing: the preposition 'for' here precedes that thing (= the person who asks would like to be asked a question). Sometimes, in informal speech that preposition (before the desired 'forgiveness' in your example) is omitted, but it can't be added into a phrase about asking a question.
ask for
is usually usedfor making requests,
. Whereas,` ask` use as a question.to request
might come handy in avoiding having to useto ask for
.