"So I have learned."

Question

Earlier today I found myself with the desire to use the expression: "So I have learned" in response to someone as a confirmation of recently gained knowledge. My question for you all is whether or not this a correct use of that expression, or if it is even an expression at all.

The flow of the conversation was:

Me - "Hey, what's the best way to do X?"

Them - "I think you'll find it easiest by doing Y. This stuff is really tricky to get right."

Me - "So I have learned. Thanks!"

I could have sworn that "so I have learned" was a commonly used expression, but a quick google search does not yield much for examples like how I used it above, which has left me to wonder if this is even correct.

Thanks.

Answer 1

It’s not so much an expression as a common way to employ so with certain verbs:

so, adv. and conj.
4. a. Representing a word or phrase already employed: Of that nature or description; of or in that condition, etc.
_{Source: Oxford English Dictionary (login required)}

This stuff is really tricky to get right.

So I’ve learned. (I’ve learned that this stuff is really tricky to get right.)

(Note that this is spoken English, so it’s natural to contract I have.)

Here are some examples from so i ‘ve VERB+ . at Corpus of Contemporary American English:

So I’ve heard.
So I’ve noticed.
So I’ve read.
So I’ve learned.
So I’ve gathered.
So I’ve found.
So I’ve seen.

Other tenses are often used:

So I hear.
So I heard.
So I noticed.
So I read.
So I learned.
So I gather.
So I gathered.

It’s common to see or here (or so i VERB+ .):

Or so I thought.
Or so I believed.
Or so I hope.
Or so I hoped.
Or so I recall.
Or so I recalled.
Or so I assume.
Or so I assumed.

So you’re okay.

Answer 2

Yes, saying "So I have learned" (or, the more common "So I've learned"--thanks, Kate Bunting) is perfectly acceptable.

Thinking about what a person could infer from hearing someone say "So I've learned," I came to the conclusion that the person saying "So I've learned" is evincing a certain emotion that is hard to characterize.

A substitute phrase for "So I've learned" could be "I've learned that the hard way" or "Been there, done that," followed by a facial expression that reflects a little embarrassment, regret, and possibly even some self-deprecating humor.

To ground your scenario a bit, I supplied your X and Y with a real-life situation; namely, replacing a watch battery (instead of paying a watch repair guy ten bucks).

Me - "Hey, what's the best way to replace a watch battery?"

Them - "I think you'll find it easiest by doing it yourself. Just be careful when removing the back of the watch! Oh, and remove the dead battery with a non-metallic item, such as a wooden or plastic toothpick. A metallic item could damage the innards of the watch. This stuff is really tricky to get right."

Me - "So I've learned!"

Them - "Let me guess, you damaged the back of the watch by using the wrong tool."

Me - "Yeah. Been there, done that!"

Answer 3

As a native English speaker, I would say this is not common parlance and would not be received as such. That said, I think the meaning/intention of this phrase would be received fairly accurately.

"So I've heard" is common parlance, generally upon receiving a piece of information. You might just be getting your wires crossed

Answer 4

Your proposed phrase would work fine IF you had learned it prior to the sample dialogue. But in that case you wouldn't be asking! So it sounds weird in this context.

If you want to show that you were open to learning something new, and now you understand, here are a couple natural ways of expressing this:

Ah, I see.

Okay, got it. (Some people say, "Gotcha" but that could mean something a bit different so I don't recommend it.)

Duly noted. (This one might come across a bit bemused so it might be a fun one to choose.)

Answer 5

What is the question?

The question is about the expression “So I have learned”. As many have commented, ‘I have’ would sound unnatural in the informal speech (“Hey…”) of the example, so I shall consider the rephrased expression “So I’ve learned”.

One reason my initial answer received several downvotes is, I believe, because I interpreted the example conversation in a different manner to others. @HighPerformanceMark had actually commented on problems with the example. I have therefore rewritten my answer to consider different possible interpretations of the question. The ambiguity is as follows:

WHAT STATEMENT IS THIS A RESPONSE TO?

I think you’ll find it easiest by doing Y.

or

This stuff is really tricky to get right.

WHAT IS MEANT BY LEARNED?

Acquired knowledge first hand (e.g. I learned to drive a car.)

or

Acquired information second hand (e.g. I learned that she was married.)

WHAT DOES THE POSTER WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE EXPRESSION?

Is it correct English?

or

Is it a commonly-used expression?

1. Response to “This stuff is really tricky…”

“So I’ve learned” would be acceptable if it were clearly a response to this statement and the meaning was that the speaker had discovered that the task was difficult from trying to perform it himself. Unambiguous and more common alternatives would be:

“So I discovered/found out”

or, using learned in the second sense

“Yes, I learned that the hard way!”

2. Response to “I think you’ll find it easiest by doing Y”

I do not think “So I’ve learned” would be a natural response to this in either case.

If the speaker wished to affirm that he had received the same information from other sources such a response would imply that he had asked how to perform the task because he was unsure whether this information was correct. In this case ‘learned’ would certainly sound too educational, and a more colloquial expression starting with “So”

“So I’ve been told”

conveys either doubt or an unpleasant “know that already” smart-Alec attitude. (The very common “So they say” even more so).To avoid that, something like

“That’s what I’ve been told”

avoids the implication of possible doubt.

If the information had been received in a formal environment, but not in a practical manner, something like

“That’s what they told (or taught) us in the course (etc.)”

takes the emphasis off “me”, conveys credit to the training.

Conclusion and Advice

The expression is undoubtedly grammatical English, but certainly not as commonly used as the alternatives I have suggested, replacing “So” and “learned”.

Whether the expression sounds natural depends on what it is meant to convey (and in what social and regional environment). Answers here on the question of whether or not something sounds natural are generally subjective (on first reading, the phrase “Thus spake Zarathusta” came to mind in my case). To obtain an objective answer listen: do you ever hear the expression used in conversation? Do this rather than try to introduce an expression you learned somewhere just because it appeals to you.