ENGLISH
REFERENCE

ask out

phr. v..
B1 Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to invite someone to go on a date with you because you like them.

phr. v.. to invite someone to a social engagement, such as a meal or a movie, specifically to initiate a romantic relationship.


SIMPLE

He finally found the courage to ask her out.

CONTEXTUAL

If you really like him, you should just ask him out for a coffee this weekend.

COMPLEX

Despite his usual confidence in professional settings, he felt uncharacteristically nervous when he decided to ask her out after the conference.

Particles
out
Separability
optional
Pattern
ask + object + out
Usage

the object (the person being invited) usually goes between 'ask' and 'out'.

Teaching tip

this is a transitive separable phrasal verb; emphasize that when using a pronoun like 'him' or 'her', it must go in the middle.

Pitfall

I asked out her.I asked her out.while you can say 'ask out [name]', with pronouns like 'her', the object must come between the verb and the particle.

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