omitting "of"

[Sweetpumpkin]

Hi there,

I have a question on idea + what phrase. Please look at the phrase below:

1) We have no idea what our customers need.

I think I could put "of" between idea and what.

2) We have no idea of what our customers need.

I think both are correct. If so, is 1) another form of 2) without 'of' which we can omit? WHat do you think?

Thanks,
sweetpumpkin

[Bhavna_Mukhija]

The second one appears better to me.

[Speedtest]

I'm not an expert (though I am a native speaker), but the first one seems slightly more correct. Putting an "of" there just makes it sound awkward.

I would go with "We do not know what our customers need" instead.