They asked the restaurant

Test No. [color=blue]incompl/inter-56 “High and Low”, question 10
They wanted to make sure that their small daughter shared in the meal and so they asked the restaurant to provide a high .

(a) place
(b) seat
(c) chair
(d) position

Test No. [color=blue]incompl/inter-56 “High and Low”, answer 10

They wanted to make sure that their small daughter shared in the meal and so they asked the restaurant to provide a high chair.

Correct answer: (c) chair

dear Torsten and Alan,

[color=darkred]Theywanted (typo) to make sure that their small daughter shared in the meal and so they asked the restaurant to provide a high chair.

What I’m wondering abaout is : "they asked the restaurant " ?, because in German we would ask the waiter for a chair or so on, and not an object.

best wishes

judith

Hi Judith,

Many thanks for pointing the typo.
As for your second remark - I think a restaurant is an organisation rather than an object and you surely can ask a company or any other organisation to do you a favour.
Let’s see what Alan says.[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: A couple reviewing a map[YSaerTTEW443543]

Hi Judith,

Just to add something to which Torsten has already written. You are asking how one can ask a restaurant to do something rather than ask a person. As Torsten has already indicated, this is perfectly acceptable. I thought back to my schooldays (which were a long time ago) and I remembered that we did some work on figures of speech. The one I have in mind is called metonymy and it means using one word to represent another, which has happened here: the restaurant really means the manager/the receptionist/a member of staff … This figure of speech can be clearly seen in this sentence: The kettle is boiling - which really means The water is boiling.

Alan

Hi Torsten,

thank you for your response. And to make myself clearer for you Alan, I have another question. In this sentence the family is allready in the restaurant ( as I have understood it ) or they just asking for a reservation and making sure that the restaurant can them provide a high chair?

best wishes

judith

Hi Judith,

You certainly do want to know what went on in that restaurant!! When I wrote the sentence, all these thoughts were not going through my mind but clearly if you want to make sure something is done then you naturally arrange this beforehand.

Alan

"You certainly do want to know what went on in that restaurant!! "

yes of course Alan…grins* and thank you very much for your explanations.

have a nice day

judith

small daughter shared in the meal = small daughter took part in the meal?

thanks