I was requested that documents yesterday.
I requested that documents yesterday.

Which one is correct the one, with was or without was?


They mean something completely different. As user57399 noted, in both cases you should use those, or use the singular document.

If you say

I was requested that document yesterday.

You mean that someone else asked you for the document. You did not request it, someone else requested it, from you. However, the sentence is not natural, because we need, as @BobRodes points out in his comment, an infinitive after requested in this case.

So if you were asked for the document, you could say:

I was requested to provide the document yesterday.

If you say

I requested that document yesterday.

You were the one that asked for the document.

So both sentences can be correct, but it depends on what you mean to say.

  • 1
    I can't see any circumstance under which the first sentence is correct. If you substitute I was asked the documents yesterday it should be clear that I was asked for the documents yesterday is correct. But I have to think about exactly why. – BobRodes Jun 25 '17 at 20:49
  • Ok, I've thought about it. Request and ask are similar in their usage, and the circumstances in which the verb functions with or without a preposition are idiomatic. In this particular case, the verb takes the form of ask somebody to do something. Therefore, an infinitive must be provided: I was requested to provide that document yesterday, for example. – BobRodes Jun 25 '17 at 20:55
  • @BobRodes You are right, of course. Something didn't feel right about that passive version. I adjusted my answer. – oerkelens Jun 26 '17 at 6:30
  • How about. "I was requested for that document yesterday."? – SovereignSun Jun 26 '17 at 8:05
  • @SovereignSun When you are requested for something, it means that you are asked to fulfill a specific purpose, typically by being selected from a group. I was requested for work on that document would mean that someone asked to have me, specifically, work on the document, as opposed to others who could have been selected. Selected is a more typical verb: I was selected for special guard duty, for example. – BobRodes Jun 26 '17 at 23:17

Without "was". The word "requested" is itself the past form of the verb request. By the way, your sentences are incorrect in another way, because if using the plural "documents" you must say "those" not "that".

So: "I requested those documents yesterday" (plural) Or: "I requested that document yesterday" (singular)

  • What if I request the documents from you? Then you were requested the documents... – oerkelens Jun 25 '17 at 18:20
  • @oerkelens Again, you were requested to send the documents, or some such. – BobRodes Jun 25 '17 at 20:56

Your Answer

