how to say "how did you find out about this..."

adam_p_lax
 October 05, 2013, 12:40 AM posted in General Discussion

I know this seems a bit simple but I was having a conversation within someone in chinese and wanted to ask something like "how did you find out about this activity."

 

I couldn't think of good way to say that except for like "你怎么发现了这个活动“ does anyone know if this would work or not? thanks!

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darkstar94
 October 05, 2013, 12:09 AM

Well it would definitely be 是。。。的 pattern, as for 发现, I'm not sure if it suits.  I might say 你（是）怎么知道这个活动的？ Could be wrong though.

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adam_p_lax

why would that be a 是。。。的 pattern?

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darkstar94

Because the 是。。。的 pattern is used to ask about a method or a time period etc in the past, for example:

你们（是）怎么认识的？ - how do you guys know each other?

你（是）怎么找到我的？ - how did you find me?

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/the-%E6%98%AF%E7%9A%84-shide-pattern#sthash.r30KSKvO.dpbs