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.