What is wrong with this sentence?

Question

I did not ask that you pay for the meal.

What is wrong with the sentence above, and what is the reason?

Answer 1

Although the sentence is grammatically correct, it sounds a little awkward. The phrase "that you pay" is a dependent clause and could be made more explicitly clear by mentioning the personal pronoun "you" and by removing the demonstrative pronoun "that." For instance, the sentence could be rephrased like this: "I did not ask you to pay for the meal." This revised sentence sounds more natural and expresses that you do not want someone to pay for the meal. To see if a sentence sounds natural, read it aloud to yourself and ask yourself, "Does it sound natural when I say it out loud?" If you would not say these words to someone, then that is a sign to revise it.

Answer 2

The sentence "I did not ask that you pay for the meal." is not grammatically incorrect, but its phrasing can lead to ambiguity or misunderstanding regarding the intended meaning. The issue primarily concerns the use of the subjunctive mood with the verb "ask."

Explanation of the Issue:

1. Subjunctive Mood:
2. The structure "I did not ask that you pay" implies a subjunctive mood because it expresses a desire or request. However, in informal English, this form can sound awkward or stilted.
3. The correct use of the subjunctive here should be "I did not ask that you should pay for the meal" or, more commonly in everyday speech, "I did not ask you to pay for the meal."
4. Ambiguity:
5. The original sentence can create confusion about whether the speaker is denying the request (implying that they did ask someone else to pay) or simply stating that they did not make such a request.
6. Rephrasing it can clarify the intent, for example, "I didn't ask you to pay for the meal," which more clearly states that the speaker did not make such an expectation.

Suggested Revision:

To enhance clarity and correctness, the sentence can be revised to:

1. "I did not ask you to pay for the meal."
2. "I did not ask that you should pay for the meal."

These alternatives eliminate ambiguity and make the statement more straightforward.

Answer 3

I agree that the sentence may sound a little awkward. I also agree that it is not grammatically incorrect. However, I would offer a different explanation. As the sentence is written, the second verb "pay" is in the subjunctive mood. Notice that if you change "you" to "he", the verb still remains "pay." This is different from the indicative mood in which the verb would change to "he pays." The use of the subjunctive is somewhat limited in English. If you desire to learn more about it, I suggest that you google the word "subjunctive." The only reason that the sentence might sound awkward is probably that we just don't use this structure with the subjunctive verb very much in English.