[General] I don't even know which exit to go as a local.

[Silverobama]

My friend and I got out of the subway train and he asked me which exit to go. There are exit A, B, C and D.

I don't know even though I've lived nearby for ten years. I seldom use the subway train.

I said to him "I don't even know which exit to go as a local".

Is it natural?

 

[jutfrank]

No, it's not good.

Silver, although you do always try to outline for us the situational context you imagine might elicit your utterances, I find that it's not always easy to answer your questions because they tend always to be part of a dialogue. So much of the way we phrase our sentences depends on the linguistic context. If you can provide us with a mini-dialogue to show exactly how you imagine your utterance to be expressed, it will help us answer a lot more easily.

 

[Yankee]

My friend and I got out of the subway [STRIKE]train[/STRIKE] and he asked me which exit to [STRIKE]go[/STRIKE] use. There are exits A, B, C and D.

I [STRIKE]don't[/STRIKE] didn't know even though I've lived nearby for ten years. I seldom use the subway train.

I said to him "I don't even know which exit to [STRIKE]go[/STRIKE] use as a local".

Is it natural?

Y.

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

My friend and I got out of the subway train and he asked me which exit to use/take. There are exit signs A, B, C and D.

I don't know, even though I've lived nearby for ten years. I seldom use the subway[STRIKE] train[/STRIKE].

I said to him "I don't even know which exit to take, and I live here".

That's correct, but even more natural are:

-I don't even know, and I live here.

- I don't even know, and I'm a local.

- I don't know. Let's try that one.

Is it natural?

Now it is!

(In this context, it's fine to use here for nearby/near here. Your friend knows you don't live in the subway.)

 

[emsr2d2]

You get off (and on) a subway [train], not out of.

 

[Silverobama]

No, it's not good.

Silver, although you do always try to outline for us the situational context you imagine might elicit your utterances, I find that it's not always easy to answer your questions because they tend always to be part of a dialogue. So much of the way we phrase our sentences depends on the linguistic context. If you can provide us with a mini-dialogue to show exactly how you imagine your utterance to be expressed, it will help us answer a lot more easily.

I really appreciate this suggestion, jutfrank. I tried to write one sentence or two short sentences in the OP because of the forum rules here. But I'll highlight my sentence/sentences so that everyone can know where my question is/questions are.

My friend A and I got off the train and was walking out of the train station. We saw four exits.

A: Which exit should we go?
Sil: I don't even know which exit to go as a local.

Actually in the mini-dialog I said "I don't even know" but I usually try to put it into a sentence like a monologue:

Today when I got off the subway train and was walking out of the station, my friend and I stood there for a while. There are four exits. I don't even know which exit to go as a local.

See? I hope one can help me with my last sentence in that monologue. :-D

 

[tedmc]

I think we normally say "which way/direction to go" or "which route/exit to take".

 

[jutfrank]

I tried to write one sentence or two short sentences in the OP because of the forum rules here.

Which rule is that? I'm sure that whichever one you're talking about would be superseded by the one that asks you to give useful context that will help us both save time and give you better answers.

My friend A and I got off the train and was walking out of the train station. We saw four exits.

A: Which exit should we go?
Sil: I don't even know which exit to go as a local.

Good. That's exactly the kind of context I was asking for. Thank you.

With that context provided, we can see now that your sentence is not really right. The beginning bit, reading I don't even know is natural phrasing in itself but it doesn't work as a response to Which exit should we take? because for you to use even, there needs to be prior contrastive context that justifies it, and there isn't in your dialogue.

A: Which exit do we take?
B: I don't know.
A: Don't you live around here?

Do you see how providing context makes all the difference to the way that you naturally phrase your utterances? I think you should do this in every post you make from now on.

 

[emsr2d2]

I really appreciate this suggestion, jutfrank. I tried to write one [STRIKE]sentence[/STRIKE] or two short sentences in the OP because of the forum rules. [STRIKE]here.[/STRIKE] [STRIKE]But[/STRIKE] I'll highlight my sentence/sentences so that everyone can [STRIKE]know[/STRIKE] see where my question is/questions are.

My friend A and I got off the train and [STRIKE]was[/STRIKE] were [STRIKE]walking out of[/STRIKE] trying to leave the train station. We saw four exits.

A: Which exit should we [STRIKE]go[/STRIKE] use?
Sil: Even as a local, I don't [STRIKE]even[/STRIKE] know [which exit to [STRIKE]go[/STRIKE] use]. [STRIKE]as a local.[/STRIKE]

Actually, in the mini-dialog I said "I don't even know" but I usually try to [STRIKE]put it into a[/STRIKE] just ask about one sentence, like a monologue:

Today, when my friend and I got off the subway train and [STRIKE]was[/STRIKE] were [STRIKE]walking out of[/STRIKE] trying to leave the station, [STRIKE]my friend and I[/STRIKE] we stood [STRIKE]there[/STRIKE] for a while, puzzling over the [STRIKE]There are[/STRIKE] four exits. Even as a local, I don't [STRIKE]even[/STRIKE] know which exit to [STRIKE]go[/STRIKE] use. [STRIKE]as a local. [/STRIKE]

See? I hope someone can help me with [STRIKE]my[/STRIKE] the last sentence in [STRIKE]that[/STRIKE] my monologue. :-D

See above. You were shown earlier in the thread that "which exit to go" is incorrect yet you repeated the error. As far as your final sentence goes, you need to attach "even" to the idea of your being a local, not to "knowing".