Grammar fix
sift through
examine carefully (especially a large amount of information or things)
To look through a lot of things or information in detail, usually to find something specific or important.
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
The journalist had to sift through hundreds of emails to find the evidence she needed.
In my opinion, students often have to sift through a huge amount of online resources to find reliable information for their assignments.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: I sifted the documents to find it.
Say: I sifted through the documents to find it.
'Sift THROUGH' a large amount — don't drop 'through'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
'Sift through' captures slow, careful searching through a lot of material; the paraphrase is heavy.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
sift through + mass
- the data
- the evidence
- hundreds of emails
- the rubble