A friend asked me to look at their resume. I saw this sentence:
Ensured that referring physicians are informed on abnormalities and suggestions via letters
Is on the correct word to use, or is of? Of sounds right to me, but I'm not sure.
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of or about....– DrewCommented Jun 4, 2017 at 4:17
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@Drew, is there a rule or something that I can refer to?– AdrianCommented Jun 4, 2017 at 4:25
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1Broadly, if they are informed on something, it means they know a lot about it. If they are informed of something, it means someone's told them it happened.– LawrenceCommented Jun 4, 2017 at 8:33
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2Unfortunately, prepositions in many languages are idiomatic, so forget about sensible rules. People just learn what goes with what over time.– Yosef BaskinCommented Jun 4, 2017 at 12:03
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1 Answer
The phrasal verb inform on does exist:
Inform on someone: to give information to the police or somebody in authority about the illegal activities of somebody - I will inform them on you!
However, it doesn't exactly fit into the sentence you originally posted. Physicians can't be informed on something. They might be informed on someone, but not something. To me, it seems incorrect.
'Of' and 'about' are both acceptable prepositions for the verb 'inform':
Please inform us of any changes of address.
The leaflet informs customers about healthy eating.
He went to inform them of his decision.
