asking

📅 Updated:2025-08-09

🕒 Created:2022-11-13

🆔 ID:46372

Description

Asking is a request for something such as information, or to perform an activity. A request does not need to be heard by anyone to be interpreted as asking.

Asking forms

Asking has four general forms. There may be ways of identifying these forms that are unrelated to phrasing. Interpreting phrasing is the easiest method of tagging this theme.

Question forms

- Phrases that ends in a question mark. Some phrases fall under questioning tone instead.
- Most phrases that begin with a question word (do, can, has, how, is, may, what, when, where, who, why)

Command forms

- Phrases that contain a directive (in the form of an imperial verb). Examples include "Do this", "Go there", "Stop", "Use me", "Let it happen"

Suggestion forms

- Phrases that ask for advice, or an opinion. These will commonly contain the word "should".

Request forms

- Phrases that ask for something. Requests can take the form of a question, or command.

Related theme

Offers can take the form of a request, or a suggestion, but not all examples of offers are a valid form of `asking`. An offer differs from a request in that it is a proposed commitment to perform a service, or provide something tangible, or intangible, while a request is an effort to obtain a subject of value, or to modify behavior.

Content tagging

Asking themes have up to three tag classifications that can be used.

Target

- Determine the recipient of the question / request (self, another, viewer).

Form

- Determine if it is a question, a request, or both.
- If it is a question, the applicable question form tag should be used. You can see the list of forms detailed in the question wiki.

Subject matter

- Determine the subject matter being asked, and how is it presented.
- Not all subject matter has its own dedicated tag, but many of the more common subjects will.