Convey is high-frequency and grammatically narrow at the same time — exactly the combination that lets fluent-sounding sentences quietly go wrong.
Convey never takes a double object — say "convey the update to them," never "convey them the update." Use "to" for the recipient, "through" or "by" for the medium, and a genuine instrumental "with"; avoid "about" as a stand-in object and "into" for documents.
No double object
Convey behaves like "explain" or "describe," not like "tell" or "give" — it never takes an indirect object directly before the direct object.
"I will convey the update to them" — correct. "I will convey them the update" — wrong.
This is the single most common grammar slip with convey, and it's easy to miss because the sentence still sounds roughly fine to the ear.
The preposition pattern
Beyond the double-object rule, preposition choice depends on what role the following phrase plays.
"To" marks the recipient:
"She conveyed confidence through her steady tone" — the medium. "He conveyed authority with a firm handshake" — a genuine instrument. "Please convey with the client that we're on track" — wrong. "With" here is misused as a recipient marker; it should be "convey to the client."
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Start learning for free →"Through" and "by" mark the channel or method the message travels by — not the recipient. A genuine instrumental "with" can mark a real instrument, but never the recipient.
"The CEO conveyed the new strategy" — correct. "The CEO conveyed about the new strategy" — wrong; "about" is a stand-in for a direct object that convey doesn't need. "We should convey this into the report" — wrong; use "include this in the report" instead.
Clause and passive forms are both fully valid
"Convey that [clause]" and the passive "was conveyed to [someone]" are both fully grammatical and shouldn't be avoided or treated as lesser style.
"The decision was conveyed to employees in writing" — a correct, natural passive, not a weaker substitute for an active sentence.
The trap: rejecting a correct instrumental "with"
Don't reject every instrumental "with" as an error — only the recipient-marking "with" ("convey with the client") is wrong. A genuine instrument ("convey confidence with a steady tone") is correct and shouldn't be flagged.
This distinction trips learners up specifically because both uses look identical on the surface — "with" followed by a noun phrase. The test is what role that noun phrase plays: is it the person receiving the message, or the thing doing the conveying?
Practice scenarios
Practice the full grammar pattern for convey in situations like:
- fixing a sentence that puts the recipient directly after convey with no preposition
- choosing between "to," "through," "by," and "with" for a given sentence
- telling a correct instrumental "with" apart from an incorrect recipient-marking "with"
- confirming that a clause or passive form of convey is grammatical, not a shortcut
Useful practice phrases:
- "I will convey the update to them, not convey them the update."
- "She conveyed confidence through her tone."
- "He conveyed authority with a firm handshake."
- "The decision was conveyed to employees in writing."
Convey the update to them.
Never convey them the update.
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