In French, Its Poser une Question Not Demander

Mistakes will always be made in French, and now you can learn from them. In English, one has  the option of saying either ask a question or pose a question. But in French, demander  cant be used with the word  question,  even though  demander  means to ask.  Poser une question  is the  best  way.  Ã‚     Ã‚  Il ma demandà © pourquoi.He asked me why.   Ã‚  Puis-je te poser une question  ?Can I ask you a question?   Ã‚  Vous pouvez poser des questions aprà ¨s la prà ©sentation.You can ask questions after the presentation. There are other, less frequently used ways, as well, to ask a question in French, including  adresser une question (à   quelquun)  and  formuler une question. Its the way the language has evolved and how its been formalized. Thats how  to ask a question has been taught in French schools and how people normally express it.   Demander  is tricky in other ways, too. This regular French -er verb is also a  faux ami. It resembles the English word demand, but it has nothing to do with this rather strident action. Rather, it is the most common  French verb for the milder to ask, and it can be used to ask for something, like a favor.   Ã‚  Il ma demandà © de chercher son pull. He asked me to look for his sweater. Demander quelque chose à   quelquun  means to ask someone for something. Note that in French there is no for or other preposition in front of the thing being requested. But there is a preposition in front of the person being asked:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Je vais demander un stylo à   Michel.Im going to ask Michel for a pen. When you want to express that someone demand something, such as a new law, turn to the stronger French verb exiger.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Il a exigà © que je cherche son pull.  Ã‚  He demanded that I look for his pullover. As for the French verb poser,  in addition to being used for asking a question, it also means to put down.   Ã‚  Il a posà © son livre sur la table.He put his book on the table.