Inquire With/About/Of/Into – Correct Preposition (Examples)

Knowing what prepositions to use with specific words can be one of the trickier parts of learning the English language. For instance, what preposition would you combine with “inquire”? Would you say “inquire with”? Or “inquire about”? And what about “inquire into”? This article will display several helpful possibilities.

Which Preposition Is Used With “Inquire”?

There is a wide range of different prepositions that you can combine “inquire” with. The most common combinations are “inquire with”, “inquire about”, “inquire of”, and “inquire into”. All of these have different connotations and imply distinct yet still related ideas. Learning when to use each one is important.

The word “inquire” can be frequently found as an equivalent for “question” or “ask”. Much like the word “ask”, you can pair it with different prepositions to easily change the meaning of a given sentence.

Once you understand the differences between all the prepositions and how you can effectively use them, you’ll find that you’ll be significantly better at speaking the English language.

All of these different prepositions are centered around the idea that you’re asking something of someone, but they all serve to specify different angles of what you’re asking about or who you’re asking it of.

Inquire With

“Inquire with” is the combination used when you want to talk about what, or who, you’re inquiring with. If you’re asking about something, and a friend is joining you to also inquire, then you’re “inquiring with” a friend. If you’re upset and inquiring, then you’re “inquiring with anger”.

Therefore, “inquire with” is simply used to convey this idea that you’re inquiring with an attitude, or with someone else, that you have something that is in some way relevant to your inquiry.

In case you’re curious on how you could use “inquire with” in a sentence, here are a few examples:

1. I inquired with my mom at the university, because we wanted to know the enrollment requirements.
2. I inquired with indignation, as it seemed that I was being stripped of my basic rights that I deserve.
3. She inquired with curiosity, as the idea had not clearly occurred to her up until that very moment.
4. He’s going to inquire with his whole family, so they will all discover the news at the same time.
5. I think you should inquire with your sense of humor, that way they will probably lower their guard.
6. I’m going to inquire with my dad what we need to do to register as members of the new club.
7. When you think about it, you should inquire with her at the post office, the two of you can find out.

Inquire About

“Inquire about” is the specific combination that is normally utilized to point out the thing that you are inquiring about, that is to say, the object or person that you wish to know more about. When you “inquire about” something, you want to know more about it.

“Inquire about” is the best way to tell the person you’re asking what you’re asking about, so they will be able to properly help you out once they have all of the relevant information.

Here are some example sentences we’ve built for you to properly learn how to use “inquire about”:

1. I’m going to inquire about their PHD program the next time we go to their campus.
2. She’s going to inquire about where her personal objects have been dropped off soon.
3. He’ll inquire about the exact details of the case, and then he’ll connect the dots he hasn’t yet.
4. I think you should inquire about what happened with your folders after you went on vacation.
5. We’ll inquire about her missing shoes next, we’re going to the school to ask the teachers.
6. He’s inquiring about the specific format that we use to type our articles, or about our style guide.
7. Hi, I’m inquiring about the new price requirements for small online purchases, do you have the info?

Inquire Of

“Inquire of” is another combination that is mainly used to specify what exactly it is you’re asking about, except that “inquire of” is specifically used to refer to the person that you’re asking the question towards. You “inquire of” the person that you’re asking the question to.

When you use “inquire of”, you’re clarifying and stating the name or role of the person who you’re asking the question towards. Because of this, it’s a very useful phrase to remember.

These example sentences will teach you how to properly use “inquire of” without any issues:

1. I inquired of my mom, asking if she had seen anything weird while she was inside the house.
2. He inquired of the principal, asking him why the school had closed up early last week.
3. “Why did you do what you did at the school gym the other night?” I inquired of John.
4. “How are you going to fix what happened to her?” I inquired of Jane’s mother.
5. “Why did the power go out at the exact same time as the robbery?” I inquired of him.
6. “What were you doing last night at six in the morning?” I inquired of her, menacingly.
7. “How did you get inside the house when you did not have a key?” I inquired of him, angry.

Inquire Into

“Inquire into” is a combination that is used slightly differently from all the other forms of “inquire” we’ve seen so far. While the others can be seen as synonyms for “ask”, this one might be better phrased as a synonym for “look into”, as it’s used to talk about investigations.

If you say that you’re going to “inquire into” something, that means that you’re going to investigate something, to try to reach some truth that you do not have in the present moment.

Here are some example sentences that will perfectly showcase the distinct use of “inquire into”:

1. I’m inquiring into her disappearance but it’s been hard because no one wants to talk about it.
2. He inquired into what happened with his wallet and it seems they have it at the old office.
3. She’s going to inquire into the strange computer replacements, so she will find out the truth.
4. I’m going to inquire into what happened to the old formats after they were replaced by new files.
5. He’s inquiring into the mysterious case of the missing robber, so he’s very busy at this moment.
6. I’m inquiring into what happened with our city’s oldest rock band, and I’m trying to find a member.
7. She’s inquiring into the current lives of all the different members of our class, so help her out.

Which Is Used the Most?

According to information supplied by the Google Ngram Viewer, “inquire about” barely holds the lead spot in popularity, and it’s just after “inquire into”. Right after these two there’s “inquire of”, “inquire after”, “inquire for” and finally, “inquire with”.

The information compiled has been gathered since the 1950s, and a very interesting fact is that up until the late 2000s, “inquire into” held the lead spot in popularity, but that stopped in 2008.

After 2008, “inquire about” obtained the lead spot without actually increasing in scope that much, simply because “inquire into” decreased in popularity so much. “Inquire into” has now nearly regained its popularity.