How did you come to know about our organisation?

[tufguy]

Q: How did you come to know about our organisation?

A: I came to know about it through internet. I came to know about it through my friends.

Please check my sentences.

 

[andrewg927]

Use "the Internet". To avoid repetition, combine two sentences into one.

 

[emsr2d2]

You certainly need the definite article there, tufguy. The capitalisation of "internet" is optional. I don't capitalise it. Which one of your two answers do you plan to use?

 

[GoesStation]

Find out about is more natural.

 

[tufguy]

Find out about is more natural.

I came to know about it through the internet.

I came to know about it through my friends.

I found out about it through the internet.

I found out about it through my friends. (It sounds awkward I think, am I correct?)

 

[tufguy]

You certainly need the definite article there, tufguy. The capitalisation of "internet" is optional. I don't capitalise it. Which one of your two answers do you plan to use?

Both.

 

[emsr2d2]

So are you saying that if someone asks you "How did you find out about our organisation?", your answer will be "I found out about it through the internet and I found out about it through my friends"? That will confuse the person who asked the question. They are likely to then ask you "Well, which one was it? Did you find out about us through the internet or through your friends?"

 

[andrewg927]

Why do you think "I found out about it through my friends" is awkward?

 

[GoesStation]

I found out about it through my friends. (It sounds awkward I think, am I correct?)

No, that's fine.

 

[tufguy]

So are you saying that if someone asks you "How did you find out about our organisation?", your answer will be "I found out about it through the internet and I found out about it through my friends"? That will confuse the person who asked the question. They are likely to then ask you "Well, which one was it? Did you find out about us through the internet or through your friends?"

No, it depends on the situation. If I have found out about them through the internet then I will say "through the internet". If I have found out about them through my friends then I will say "through my friends".

 

[tufguy]

Why do you think "I found out about it through my friends" is awkward?

Nothing, sorry I have also forgotten why I wrote that. Sorry guys.

 

[emsr2d2]

No, it depends on the situation. If I have found out about them through the internet then I will say "through the internet". If I have found out about them through my friends then I will say "through my friends".

In that case, again, you need to sort out your punctuation. You need to make it clear that you are suggesting two separate possible responses by enclosing each possible response inside its own set of quotation marks.

 

[tufguy]

In that case, again, you need to sort out your punctuation. You need to make it clear that you are suggesting two separate possible responses by enclosing each possible response inside its own set of quotation marks.

"If I have found out about them through the internet then I will say through the internet". "If I have found out about them through my friends then I will say through my friends".

 

[emsr2d2]

No! Those sentences you have now put inside quotation marks are not the possible responses to the original question. What I meant was that your original should have looked something like this.

If someone asks me "How did you find out about our organisation?", can I reply by saying "I found out about it through the internet" and "I found out about it through friends"?

Look really carefully at the position of the quotation marks. Quotation marks should go around only the words that are going to come out of your mouth!

 

[GoesStation]

Tufguy, reading novels with a lot of dialog will help you understand the use of quotation marks. Once you've seen thousands of examples, using them will become natural for you.