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What is the most effective and correct way to use the sentences?

1) He requested his friend to fetch some water in a quiver.

2) He requested his friend to get some water in a quiver.

Is there any similarity in both two sentences? or they are different in their use?

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2  
The odd thing about those sentences is not the verb, but your choice of the word quiver, which is a pouch used to carry arrows. Why would you fetch water with a quiver? Where did you learn this word, and why are you using it here? – JSBձոգչ May 16 '12 at 13:37
@JSB oh, I was watching a Episode of Mahabharata in a T.V. and i got it there the Yudhishthira requested Nakula to fetch some water in a quiver. then I quizzed ? why it couldn't be get some water in a quiver.from my point of view both are same. but there is a little bit of confusion. – Krishna Chandra Tiwari May 16 '12 at 13:47
@JSBⰀⰐⰃⰔ Weird how close fetch is to words like fletch, fletcher, and fletchery, where one might well expect to find quivers. – tchrist May 17 '12 at 0:55

3 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

Fetch and get mean the same thing in these sentences. Fetch means that you are going to get something, and bring it back. Get (meaning 3 here) doesn't necessarily mean that you are bringing it back.

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Also, fetch is much less common and sounds old-fashioned. – Mitch May 16 '12 at 14:00
I live in SE US, @Mitch :) – JeffSahol May 16 '12 at 14:11
Is "fetch" commonly used in the south east? Or is that just self-deprecating humor? – Jay May 16 '12 at 14:14
@JeffSahol : i got it because the Nakula was supposed to get water back to his brothers. – Krishna Chandra Tiwari May 16 '12 at 14:19
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Those who feel 'fetch' is old-fasioned need to fetch a new block of data with zero latency. – Kris May 16 '12 at 17:17
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up vote 1 down vote

A bigger problem is the misuse of 'request'.

You can request a favour or thing ~ "He requested a room with a sea view"

or request to have something ~ "He requested to be allowed a longer time"

or request that something happens ~ "He requested that they all bring their own cameras"

but not request a friend to do something. That should be 'ask'.

Try "he requested that his friend fetch/get some water..."

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up vote 1 down vote

In your contention that fetch and get are synonyms, you are thinking of the meaning 'to bring'.

However, fetch is used in the sense of 'go and bring (or carry back)'.

Remember Jack and Jill went ... to fetch a pail of water, not 'to bring'?

Get is slightly tricky -- it is used in either sense.

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