I am not introduced to him; I only know him indirectly.

Question

HiIs this sentence natural? If no, then please edit it.I am not introduced to him; I only know him indirectly.Thanks,Tom

RayH · Accepted Answer

Mr. TomIs this sentence natural?

No.

This can be said of anyone you have heard about:

I haven't met him, I only know him by reputation.

This is typically only said of someone who is well know such as an author, artist or the like:

I haven't met him, I only know him by his work.

Mr. Tom · Answer

Thanks!

One more question.

Now I am going to break my original sentence into 2. If spoken as individual sentences, how would they sound to your native ears?

1) I am not introduced to him yet but he may come to the party tonight.

2) I know him indirectly. We have got a common friend.

Tom

RayH · Answer

Mr. Tom1) I am not introduced to him yet but he may come to the party tonight.

This is not something a native speaker would say. I guess you could say "I haven't been introduced to him yet..." but it's not a very common formulation. Stick with "I haven't met him yet..."

Mr. Tom2) I know him indirectly. We have got a common friend.

Also not something you're likely to hear a native speaker say. I the context suggested by this sentence you would probably say "I've heard a lot about him."

Also, the second part is awkward. The most common way to express this idea is: "We have a mutual friend."

I am not introduced to him; I only know him indirectly.

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