You can ask somebody something. And you can ask something of somebody. Your other sample does not work. I know a lot of people use the sb and sth shortcuts here on this website, but they seem lazy and uncommitted. I would highly recommend you write out those words. They really aren't well-recognized abbreviations nor do we use them in anything remotely formal. I wouldn't even use them with text messages.

Don't confuse indirect objects (IOs) with phrasal verbs and other prepositions. An INDIRECT OBJECT is someone or something TO whom or FOR whom something is done. An IO is a special construct governed by certain rules. In your examples #1 uses an indirect object. The other two do NOT. ----- Let me teach you about IOs. Consider the following sentences that use prepositions "to" or "for". Those these prepositions express to whom or for whom something is done, these sentence structures are NOT using IOs. 1. Do a favor for me. 2. Sing a song for me. 3. Tell a story to me. 4. Give a kick to the door. (i.e., kick the door open) 5. Ask a question to me. To convert the above sentences to use indirect objects, two changes must be made. (1) The "to" or "for" phrase must be moved to between the verb and the direct object (DO). (2) The "to" or "for" preposition is then OMITTED. 1. Do FOR ME a favor. => Do ME a favor. (IO = me, DO = favor) 2. Sing FOR ME a song. => Sing ME a song. (IO = me, DO = song) 3. Tell TO ME a story. => Tell ME a story. (IO = me, DO = story) 4. Give TO THE DOOR a kick. => Give the DOOR a kick. (IO = door, DO = kick) 5. Ask TO ME a question. => Ask ME a question. (IO = me, DO = question) ----- Hopefully, this will reduce your confusion a little. ----- Self Assessment (Identify the IO in these sentences) A. Throw me the ball. B. Don't tell me a lie. C. He gave the ignition key a turn. D. She sent me a package but I returned it to her. E. Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies.