Sign In Get Started
Prepositions after verbs

Sift through, from, thru, about or around

Sift through is the standard expression for searching carefully among many things. Other prepositions have different uses or are nonstandard spellings.

Quick answer

Best choice

Use sift through when examining many items carefully. Use sift from when separating one thing from another. Thru is an informal spelling of through.

She sifted through the documents.
Police sifted through the evidence.
The machine sifted sand from gravel.
He sifted through old emails.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
sift through + collection

Searching carefully

Sift through means examine many items one by one.

I sifted through the files.
They sifted through hundreds of applications.
2
sift from + source

Separating one thing from another

From introduces the source or material being separated.

Workers sifted gold from the soil.
The device sifted impurities from the water.
3
sift around + place

Searching informally in a place

Around can describe movement while searching, but it is less fixed than sift through.

She sifted around in her bag.
He sifted around the attic.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
sift through
She sifted through the papers.
search carefully among many things
sift from
They sifted stones from the sand.
separate one thing from another
sift thru
He sifted thru old notes.
informal spelling of through; avoid in formal writing
sift about
They sifted about in the drawer.
possible in some dialectal or informal uses, but through is more standard
sift around
I sifted around the box for receipts.
search around an area

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using thru in formal English

Use through in standard writing.

✕ She sifted thru the records. ✓ She sifted through the records.

Confusing through and from

Through means search among. From means separate.

✕ They sifted from the papers for answers. ✓ They sifted through the papers for answers.

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. Detectives ___ the evidence for clues.
2. The machine sifted dust ___ the air.
3. Which spelling is standard in formal writing?

Check your sentence in context

Paste the complete sentence below. Linguix checks the preposition together with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style.

Free to try · No signup required

Frequently asked questions

Is sift through always literal?

No. It is also common for searching digital files, emails, or information.

Can I use sift around?

Yes, especially for physical searching in a place, though sift through is more common for collections of items.

What does sift out mean?

Sift out means remove or separate unwanted things from a group.

sack, by, sack, for, sack, from "sacrifice for" or "sacrifice to"? sail from, in, for, to or through? "salvage from" or "salvage in"? sanction by, for, in, with or according? satisfy with, by, in, about or after? "saturate with" or "saturate in"? save by, for, from, on or in? "say in", "say about" or "say to"? "scan for", "scan in" or "scan through"? "scar by" or "scar on"? scatter in, across, around, throughout or on?

Write with confidence in Linguix

Create a free account to check complete texts, apply suggestions, and save your documents.

Create a free account