we cannot give you a positive answer to your inquiry vs we cannot give you a positive answer about your inquiry

Both phrases are correct, but they are used in slightly different contexts. 'We cannot give you a positive answer to your inquiry' is more commonly used when referring to whether the response or answer is favorable, while 'We cannot give you a positive answer about your inquiry' is used when asking about the certainty or state of the inquiry itself.

Explained by Michele A.
Editor at TextRanch

Last updated: June 26, 2024

we cannot give you a positive answer to your inquiry

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used when indicating that a positive response cannot be provided in relation to the inquiry itself.

Examples:

We cannot give you a positive answer to your inquiry at this time.
Unfortunately, we cannot give you a positive answer to your inquiry due to confidentiality reasons.

Show examples from the web [+]

Unfortunately, I for one cannot give a positive answer to these questions.
The Commission agrees to continue its efforts to give a positive answer to the challenge of multilingualism, whilst keeping interpretation costs under control.
We need to give a positive answer to that question, which we do not always do.
They deserve full recognition for having done so, and I hope you can give a positive answer to the question we have put to you in this House today.
Our inability to give a positive answer was really reducing our credibility.
I hope that the Czechs are able to give positive answers to all the questions and that a favourable solution can in that way be found to this problem.
Is the Commission willing to step up the political pressure required to ensure that the Turkish authorities give a positive answer to the two previous questions?
The Parties agree to study the capacity of the guarantee systems to give a positive answer to the specific needs of small and medium-sized enterprises of insuring their investments in ACP States.
In legal terms, in terms of the Treaty, I can certainly give a positive answer.
All too often, I have been unable to give a practical and positive answer.
Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, as rapporteur on the horizontal measures I cannot give you a positive assessment.
We cannot give you what you deny yourself.
Having failed to receive sufficient answers to these questions, we have voted against, because we cannot give a blank cheque to the European Commission.
We do not offer college credit, we cannot give you any sort of pay, but it is a really fun work environment.
But I'm telling you, we cannot give you any more money.
I regret that we cannot give you a more complete answer at this stage.
Furthermore, Commission officials sometimes provide oral answers and tell us that written answers will follow, yet we cannot give a full and binding answer to petitioners on the basis of an oral answer.
There is no doubt that enlargement automatically produces a qualitative and quantitative increase in road links, but we cannot give you more specific figures, apart from the general forecasts of around 50% by the year 2010.
TRITAZIDE might give you a positive result.
I would like to give you a positive example in this area.

Alternatives:

We are unable to provide a positive response to your inquiry.
We cannot give you a favorable answer to your inquiry.

we cannot give you a positive answer about your inquiry

This phrase is correct and commonly used in English.

This phrase is used when specifying the topic or subject of the positive answer that cannot be provided.