Query; enquiry

Question

Hi,The committee directed its enquiries to Mrs Taylor.What does it mean?1. The committee asked Mrs Taylor some questions.2. The committee was asked some questions, and it then asked Mrs Taylor those questions.The police are still pursuing their enquiries.They are still trying to find asnwers to their questions?She has been released on bail pending further enquiries.She has been released on bail waiting to be asked questions by the police or the court?If you have any queries regarding this offer, simply call our helpline.The faculty welcomes enquiries from prospective entrants. Are "query" and "enquiry" interchangeable in these five sentences?Thanks in advance

KateJS · Accepted Answer

ChristanfordHi,

The committee directed its enquiries to Mrs Taylor.

What does it mean?
1. The committee asked Mrs Taylor some questions. Yes
2. The committee was asked some questions, and it then asked Mrs Taylor those questions.

The police are still pursuing their enquiries.

They are still trying to find asnwers to their questions? Yes

She has been released on bail pending further enquiries.

She has been released on bail waiting to be asked questions by the police or the court? More likely that the police need to ask other people questions.

If you have any queries regarding this offer, simply call our helpline.

The faculty welcomes enquiries from prospective entrants.

Are "query" and "enquiry" interchangeable in these five sentences?

Hmm. With the police, they are always 'enquiries'. To me, a 'query' is when somone has been given some information, but it might not be clear or adequate for them, and they need more, or they are challenging the information. "I queried the need to complete another application form". "I have a query about this offer - when does it expire?" An enquiry is when I investigate something without having the information to start with - "I enquired whether there were any vacancies for a waitress". So in 1), it could be queries if they were, in fact queries rather than enquiries (ie the committee had some information that they were challenging or trying to clarify), but in the rest, no, not really interchangable.

Thanks in advance

Christanford · Answer

Thanks! <img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

Query; enquiry

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