Ask out means to invite someone on a date. Sometimes it's broader, an invitation to spend time together, but it almost always has a romantic feel: He asked her out for dinner.
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ask + person + out; ask + person + out + for coffee/to dinner; ask her/him out (not ask out her)
- Jake finally asked Mia out for coffee after their English class.
- She asked him out to the cinema, and he said yes right away.
What changed
First versionI really like Kate, but I'm scared to ask out her.
RevisionI really like Kate, but I'm scared to ask her out.
When the person being invited is a pronoun (her, him, me), it goes in the middle: ask her out. Nobody says ask out her. A name usually goes in the middle too: ask Kate out.
Go out with someone means to be in a relationship: They've been going out for a year. Ask out is only the first step, the invitation. I asked her out means you invited her; I'm going out with her means you're together.
Your turn
Ella was too shy to ___, so in the end Max asked her out first.
Show the answer
ask Max out — This is about the first step, who invites whom, so ask Max out. Go out with Max means to be in a relationship with him; they aren't a couple yet, and in the end it's Max who asks first.
Describe how one person asks another out. Say where they suggest going and when.
On Friday after work, Alex asked Sara out to a jazz concert on Saturday night.
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