Reported Commands and Requests Using Infinitive Structures

B1 Eiken 2 Intermediate

tell/ask + object + (not) to-infinitive

Explanation

Use this pattern when you report a command or a request. Say "tell" or "ask" + the person + "to" + the verb.

For example, "She told me to wait outside." Here, "She" is the speaker, "told" is the reporting verb, "me" is the person who heard it, and "to wait" is the action. If the command is negative, use "not to": "They told us not to park here." Japanese often uses "〜するように言った" or "〜するように頼んだ," but English puts the action after "to."

Examples

  • She told me to wait outside. 彼女は私に外で待つように言った。
  • My boss asked me to finish the report today. 上司は私に今日中に報告書を終えるよう頼んだ。
  • Could you ask Tom to call me later? トムにあとで電話するようお願いしてくれる?
  • The teacher told us not to use our phones. 先生は私たちに携帯電話を使わないように言った。
  • He asked her to speak more slowly. 彼は彼女にもっとゆっくり話すよう頼んだ。
  • Mom reminded me to call Grandma after dinner. 母は私に夕食後におばあちゃんに電話するように思い出させた。

Common Mistakes

Japanese learners often leave out "to": "He asked me go home." -> "He asked me to go home." They also sometimes use "that" here: "He told me that go home." -> "He told me to go home."

Ready to practice? Try a quick fill-in-the-blank quiz on this grammar point.