"Informed that X is as follows" vs "Informed of X is as follows" [closed]

Question

I am making a report to management. Which is the more appropriate expression?

1. Please be informed that the above results are as follows.
2. Please be informed of the above results are as follows.

Answer 1

The verb inform usually takes two complements, a direct object, and also a prepositional phrase or finite complement clause:

1. I informed [Bob] [of the meeting]

2. I informed [Bob] [that the meeting's happening on Friday].

In the Original Poster's example there is no direct object because the verb phrase uses a passive construction. The person taking the thematic role of 'patient', in other words the person who will be informed in this situation, is the unexpressed subject of the imperative: you.

As mentioned above and shown in example (1), inform often selects a Prepositional Phrase as a complement. Specifically, inform licenses the selection of the preposition of. This preposition usually only takes Noun Phrases, or other Preposition Phrases as a complement. It cannot take a full finite clause (a full sentence):

• of I like cheese. * (wrong)

In contrast, the verb inform can itself take a finite clause as a complement. This clause may or may not be marked as subordinate by the word that, :

• I was informed they had already left
• I was informed that they had already left.

The problem with the Original Poster's second example is that it uses the above results are as follows, a finite clause, as the complement of of. As already stated, of can only take NPs or PPs as complement - not full clauses. The following, where of is followed by a Noun Phrase, is, in contrast, well-formed:

• Please be informed of [the following results].

In short, we can use either [of + Noun Phrase] or [that + finite clause] as a complement of inform. Inform followed by [of + finite clause], however, will always be ungrammatical.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

The sentence doesn't make sense without context because you are simultaneously saying the results are 'above' the current line and also 'following' Both may indeed be true but then what is the purpose of the line describing it?

The line should probably be "Please be advised that the results are as follows:"

If you want to specify that the results that follow pertain to some specific research mentioned above then use the form "Please be advised that the results of the [study or research in some specific area] are as follows:

However the entire line seems somewhat superfluous to me. Why do you need to announce that the results follow and then immediately follow with the results?

Answer 3

I'm not a native speaker, too, but I would say that the first option is correct.

I guess that you need a complement if you use of:

• be informed of something

but if you have a whole sentence with a verb, you need that:

• be informed that something happened