[Grammar] Must we use "of "here

[tianhang]

Hi ,everyone!Your help is appreciated here.

He asked us to keep him informed of how everything was going.

I don't think "of" is properly used in this sentence.Am I right ?
Must we use "of " here? Or can it be left out ? Or is it a mistake to use it here ?
Of course, we can say "keep sb informed of sth".

Right here waiting for your answers. Thank you !:roll:

 

[sarat_106]

Hi ,everyone!Your help is appreciated here.

He asked us to keep him informed (of) how everything was going.

I don't think "of" is properly used in this sentence.Am I right ?
Must we use "of " here? Or can it be left out ? Or is it a mistake to use it here ?
Of course, we can say "keep sb informed of sth".

Right here waiting for your answers. Thank you !:roll:

Your guess is correct. You can not use ‘of’ here. The word ‘how’ (=the manner or way in which) acts as a conjunction to join the clause ‘everything was going’

 

[smelvanzq]

He asked us to keep him informed of how everything was going.

I don't think "of" is properly used in this sentence.Am I right ?
Must we use "of " here? Or can it be left out ? Or is it a mistake to use it here ?
Of course, we can say "keep sb informed of sth".

Right here waiting for your answers. Thank you !:roll:

HI teachers! Isn't the sentence same as "He asked us to keep him informed about how everything was going"? which I believe is a correct sentence.
Correct me teachers if I am wrong. Thanks

 

[sarat_106]

HI teachers! Isn't the sentence same as "He asked us to keep him informed about how everything was going"? which I believe is a correct sentence.
Correct me teachers if I am wrong. Thanks

No, it is no different from the previous one with the preposition ‘of’. Please note that ‘inform’ is a transitive verb meaning: to tell someone about particular facts. It can take a direct or prepositional object. ‘about’ is a preposition which should be followed by a noun or pronoun as its object but not ‘how’ which is normally used as an adverb or conjunction.

 

[Barb_D]

Sarat, I don't doubt your knowledge, but in practice, I think we use a variety of prepositions after this.

Keep me informed of his progress.
Keep me informed on how it's going.
Keep me informed about the situation.

Of those, I'd say the "of" sounds best. Perhaps it is "sloppy" English, but it sound more natural to me than "Keep me informed how it's going."

 

[sarat_106]

Sarat, I don't doubt your knowledge, but in practice, I think we use a variety of prepositions after this.

Keep me informed of his progress.
Keep me informed on how it's going.
Keep me informed about the situation.

Of those, I'd say the "of" sounds best. Perhaps it is "sloppy" English, but it sound more natural to me than "Keep me informed how it's going."

I agree as far as 1 and 3 where ‘of’ and ‘about’ are followed by a noun with a modifier but not 2, because it can work without ‘on’

 

[tianhang]

Thanks for your discussion.I am still not clear about the right sentence structure,though.
Further help is still needed here.
You please give me a hand !

 

[sarat_106]

Thanks for your discussion.I am still not clear about the right sentence structure,though.
Further help is still needed here.
You please give me a hand !

I think your problem is not that complicated. You want to be sure whether the words ‘of’ and ‘about’ can be used after the verb ‘inform’ and if so, when and what is the correct structure. The answer is yes they can be used, but as you are aware a preposition must be followed by a noun, pronoun or a noun phrase which is called the object of the preposition. See the following:
Please keep me informed of new developments. (noun with a modifier)
Please keep me informed about him. (objective pronoun)
Please keep me informed about product updates (noun phrase)
Please keep me informed in English. (noun followed by preposition ‘in’)
On the other hand, ‘how’ can act as an adverb or conjunction, So it should not be followed by a preposition.
Please keep me informed how he is doing. (a conjunction joining a sentence)

Have a look at the following conversations:

Sales man: This is a very good product. Please take it and keep us informed how it functions. (how joins the independent clause ‘it functions’)
or keep us informed if it gives any problem. (the clause is joined by ‘if’)
Customer: OK but I want to stay informed about the latest developments to the product. (underlined expression is a noun phrase)
Sales man: Sure, we will keep you informed from time to time (noun phrase)

I hope, this helps.

 

[TheParser]

Hi ,everyone!Your help is appreciated here.

He asked us to keep him informed of how everything was going.

I don't think "of" is properly used in this sentence.Am I right ?
Must we use "of " here? Or can it be left out ? Or is it a mistake to use it here ?
Of course, we can say "keep sb informed of sth".

Right here waiting for your answers. Thank you !:roll:

***NOT A TEACHER***tianhang, good morning. I may be completely wrong, but you said you wanted many different views to think about. (1) He asked us to tell him (how everything was going). I think some teachers would say "how" is an interrogative adverb in that sentence. = How was everything going? It modifies "was going." (2) Your sentence is basically the same: He asked us to keep him informed of (something). (3) That "something" is "How was everything going?" (4) Therefore, I think (only think) that "how everything was going" is a noun clause. (5) It is the object of the preposition "of." (6) Is the preposition "correct"? I think so. (7) Can you drop it? Sure. (8) Would most Americans use it? I don't know. But I would. Thank you for letting me comment on your interesting question. I, too, learned a lot from the other posters' answers.

 

[BobK]

Sarat, I don't doubt your knowledge, but in practice, I think we use a variety of prepositions after this.

Keep me informed of his progress.
Keep me informed on how it's going.
Keep me informed about the situation.

Of those, I'd say the "of" sounds best. Perhaps it is "sloppy" English, but it sound more natural to me than "Keep me informed how it's going."

:up: Absolutely! But it does sound a bit heavy-handed. Plain 'Keep me informed' would do, or something less Latinate, like 'Let me know how it's going'; for lovers of modern management-speak, you might meet 'Keep me in the loop' - not that I'd recommend it. ;-)

b

 

[Barb_D]

Ooh! Ooh! Make sure everyone who needs to be in the loop is kept apprised of what has transpired.

Then we can be jargony AND passive!

 

[Mehrgan]

:up: Absolutely! But it does sound a bit heavy-handed. Plain 'Keep me informed' would do, or something less Latinate, like 'Let me know how it's going'; for lovers of modern management-speak, you might meet 'Keep me in the loop' - not that I'd recommend it. ;-)

b

Hi dear Bobk,
Are you suggesting that the expression "keep me in the loop!" could be used just like "keep me informed." and "let me know how it's going."? So, "Keep me in the loop" is not just used for any special knowledge? Many thanks.

 

[Mehrgan]

And, please, what I'd like to know is if "to be in the loop", used to refer to a third person, and "keep me in the loop" carry different meanings?

Could "keep me in the loop" be used for every day speech?

 

[Mehrgan]

Could "Gen me up!" and "Tip me off!" be used for the same purpose? Any informal phrasal verb in BrE please? Thanks in advance.

 

[tianhang]

I really appreciate your analysises .Now I have a better understanding of the sentense structure.Thanks a lot!
By the way, the Chinese Spring Festival ( the New Year in lunar calendar) is approaching.I whish you all the best in the coming year!
:up::up::up::up:

 

[BobK]

Answering a few questions about 'keep me in the loop.' As Barb said, it's jargon, and as I said, I wouldn't recommend it. But it is current. Originally, it referred to a particular communications loop (a list of people who were sent all relevant e-mails)

b. Now it just means 'kept up-to-date about how a situation develops'. On TV dramas, bosses are forever saying 'Keep me in the loop on this case - no surprises, OK?'