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Everyday English · Work & study

Find out

Learn a fact or discover information.

You learn information that you did not know before. You might ask someone, read a notice or investigate a question.

Plain-English lessonVisual explanation3 practice steps

01 · Picture the situation

Understand it in three steps

Cartoon of a traveller learning about a train departure from a station attendant.
Picture the meaningShe finds out when her train leaves by asking the attendant.
01A question
02Look for information
03Now you know

Imagine this: You do not know when the next bus leaves. You ask the driver, who says 10:30. You find out the departure time.

02 · Hear it in everyday life

Examples you can use

Three natural sentences

  1. I will find out when the class starts.
  2. She found out that the shop closes at six.
  3. Can you find out more about the course?

A short conversation

PERSON ADo you know which room we need?
PERSON BNot yet. I will find out at reception.

Read the conversation aloud. Then swap roles and try it again without looking.

03 · Build your sentence

How to use find out

Common patterns are find out + a fact, find out that + a statement, and find out when/where/why/how + a clause. In “find out when the class starts”, use statement order after when.

BASE FORMfind out
PAST SIMPLEfound out
AFTER HAVE / HASfound out

The base form is used after can, will and to. The past simple describes a finished past event. The third form follows have or has, for example when connecting an earlier action to now.

A common mistake to avoid

Use thisI found out where the office is.
Avoid this in this meaningI found out where is the office.

This is a question inside a sentence. After where, use the office is, not is the office.

Do not confuse it: Find often means locate a thing: “I found my keys.” Find out usually means discover information: “I found out who had the keys.”

Does it have another meaning?

Find someone out can mean discover that they have been dishonest. This lesson focuses on learning facts.

Learn the meaning and sentence pattern together. Small words such as up and off do not have one fixed meaning in every expression.

04 · Make it stick

Try it for yourself

Choose an answer before opening the explanation. Then make a sentence about your own life.

1. You ask the librarian and learn the closing time. You…
  1. find out the closing time
  2. set off for home
  3. put on the closing time
Check answer 1

A. find out the closing time

You have discovered information that you did not know.

2. Can you find out ___?
  1. when starts the film
  2. when the film starts
  3. when does the film starts
Check answer 2

B. when the film starts

Use statement word order in the clause: the film starts.

3. Your turn

Write something you would like to find out.

See a possible model and self-check

I will find out when the class starts.

This is one model, not the only correct answer. Check that your sentence uses the meaning taught here, the right verb form and the word order above. Change the person, place or time to make it your own.