didn't know about

English grammar questions, answered by Alan

Moderator: Alan

Locked
azz
Rising Star
Rising Star
Posts: 296
Joined: Fri Feb 06, 2004 12:50 pm

didn't know about

Post by azz »

a. He knew that we had talked to six witnesses, but he didn't know we had talked to three others as well.

b. He knew about six of the witnesses we had talked to, but he didn't know about three others.

c. We had talked to nine witnesses. He knew about six of them, but not about the three others.


Which of the above are grammatical and make sense?

I think (a) doesn't make sense. It gives the impression that we had talked to six witnesses in all, but we have actually talked to nine. I wonder if people might say things like that if they are careless though.

In (b) and (c), 'knew about' is supposed to mean having knowledge of the fact that we have talked to those people. I think that works here, although in theory he might know a lot about a witness without knowing that we have talked to them.

Many thanks.
User avatar
Alan
Teacher/Moderator
Teacher/Moderator
Posts: 15204
Joined: Mon Dec 29, 2003 7:56 pm
Status: Teacher of English
Location: Japan

Re: didn't know about

Post by Alan »

All are grammatical and make sense.

Kindly note that we do not answer questions about meaning in this forum (see 'Read before Posting' for guidance as to appropriate questions.)
Locked