According to John's information/knowledge the train leaves at 7 o'clock

[Kharkhun]

Is this sentence a common mistake?

According to John's knowledge the train leaves at 10 o'clock.

(I've heard mainly this version: According to John's information the train leaves at 7 o'clock.)

 

[emsr2d2]

Both versions (knowledge/information) are unnatural. I would expect "As far as John knows, the train leaves at 10 o'clock".

 

[Roman55]

I am not a teacher.

This sort of phrase makes more sense when you are talking about your own information or knowledge, not someone else's.

 

[Kharkhun]

Please look at this site (Cambridge test):

http://www.cambridgeenglish.org/test-your-english/adult-learners/index.aspx?page=survey&pagenum=2#
(Test No.9 )

 

[emsr2d2]

Cambridge online test or not, I still find it an unnatural construction. If I had to use "knowledge", I would drop "According" and, as Roman55 said, it's more likely to be used in the first person. "To my knowledge, the train leaves ...". Of the four choices, "information" is the best.

 

[Kharkhun]

Is it possible to say only:

According to Richard's, the train leaves at 10 o'clock. (If possible, what's the reason that we put four options below the sentence in order to turn the sentence into a test?)

 

[5jj]

No it is not.

As ems said, the best answer is 'information'. 'According to John's information' is possible in the sense of 'according to the information John received'. As a stand-alone sentence, "According to John's information the train leaves at 10 o'clock" seems rather unnatural.

 

[Raymott]

Is it possible to say only:

According to Richard's, the train leaves at 10 o'clock. (If possible, what's the reason that we put four options below the sentence in order to turn the sentence into a test?)

1. No, "According to Richard, ..."
2. If only one option was put, it wouldn't be a test. Two options would make it a test, but not necessarily a good one. The more options there are, the more you have to think, and ideally, the more you learn. As assessment, it also gives a finer gradation of results.