”ask for” vs ”ask to”

"Ask for" and "ask to" both means request.
But they are being used differently.

Ask for should be followed by a pronoun or noun.
e.g. James asks for a blanket.
Susan asks for help.
Ryan asks Ashley for a drink.

Ask to should be followed by a verb.
e.g. Tom asks to join the football team.
(with this example, it has a meaning of "invite".)
Patty asks Alex to clean the dishes.
(Patty requests Alex to clean the dishes.)

Hope this help.