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Which choice sounds natural in the following made-up scenario?

a) Have you heard from Tom? There is no word from him recently!
b) I was at a party last night. ................................ But unfortunately we didn't come up to each other at all.

1) He was there by chance too.
2) Accidentally he was there too.

I wonder if there is a better choice in natural and idiomatic English. I have an intuition that my construction of the sentence is not valid and there is a much better way to convey the same concept.

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    I would use the word coincidentally: Coincidentally, he was there too, but, unfortunately, we didn't see each other. (I think you may want to consider amending your but... statement as it doesn't quite read right).
    – Gamora
    Jun 3, 2019 at 14:54
  • No problem! Glad I could help.
    – Gamora
    Jun 3, 2019 at 15:18

2 Answers 2

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He also happened to be there, but unfortunately, we didn't bump into each other.

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  • Thank you @Kaique. I've heard this usage. I think your suggested structure means the same as Bee's (Coincidentally) just your is more causal and informal. Do you agree?
    – A-friend
    Jun 4, 2019 at 12:48
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    Yes. Coincidentally is kind of a big word for me, so, I would say yes. It is more formal to say coincidentally.
    – Kaique
    Jun 4, 2019 at 13:26
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I would use the word coincidentally:

Coincidentally, he was there too, but, unfortunately, we didn't see each other.

(I think you may want to consider amending your but... statement as it doesn't quite read right).

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  • Thank you very much @Bee. But what's wrong with "we didn't come up to each other"?
    – A-friend
    Jun 3, 2019 at 15:20
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    It just doesn't sound right here, but I can't put my finger on the reason why. I think it would be technically correct.
    – Gamora
    Jun 3, 2019 at 15:27
  • @A-friend may I ask why you removed my answer as the answer to your question?
    – Gamora
    Jun 5, 2019 at 13:46
  • Well @Bee what Kaique says is closer to the concept that I was looking for while the adjective "coincidentally" works, but in much more formal cases. This is what I learned from Kaique. If my takeaway is incorrect, then please kindly let me know. I need to know more Bee. :)
    – A-friend
    Jun 5, 2019 at 14:12
  • I think "to come up to each other" is more like a British expression if I'm not wrong. I don't usually hear that in the US.
    – Kaique
    Jun 6, 2019 at 14:36

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