Learn English Vocabulary – Find vs. Find Out

What’s the difference between Find and Find Out?

Find means to locate something. You can find an object or a thing. You can even find a person. You can find something that you lost, or find something you are searching for. You usually find something by your own action. We use find + [something] and find + [someone]. The usual grammar is find + noun. Remember, find is an irregular verb, so we say find, found, found. Here are some examples:

• If you find a good Chinese restaurant near the office, let me know.
• I found my wallet. It fell behind my desk.
• Jane hasn’t found her keys yet. I hope she does soon.

Find out means discover some information. You can find out something about someone, some place, etc. You usually find out something by doing research or from someone else. We use find out + [something]. The the usual grammar is find out + [noun phrase] and find out + [subject/verb]. Find out is a phrasal verb, and the past tense is found out. Here are some examples:

• I finally found out her email address. ← I did some research
• I found out the chef was from Taiwan. ← Someone gave me the information
• Did you find out why Jack got fired?

So, you find something, but you find out information.
Keep in mind the best way to remember this or any vocabulary in English is to take the word or phrase write it in a sentence that’s true for you or true in your world and then memorize your sentences.

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