"provided some hints" is correct and usable in written English
You can use it to refer to something that has been done to help someone come to a conclusion or make a decision. For example, "My teacher provided some hints about the questions on the exam to help me study."
The pretrial hearings in Private Manning's case have also provided some hints.
Mr. Comey provided some hints of his thinking about interrogation and related issues in a speech that spring.
It provided some hints in an official account of its last meeting, which ended on Aug. 1.
But Orlando provided some hints that it might seriously threaten the planned-for N.B.A. finals date between James and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant.
They also provided some hints about what the dozen new contestants should avoid, with Berry, 81, pronouncing that "the macaron has had its day" and Hollywood warning against over-icing.
Mr. Obama has already provided some hints of how he would position himself against Mrs. Clinton, suggesting he would link her to her husband's presidency and their role in the intense partisanship that marked much of the 1990s and that carried over into the Bush presidency.
Google Now has provided some hint of what's possible when a smartphone has a thorough understanding of its user, and what said user's needs might be, given time, location and inputs including email, calendar and other overt signals.
Their endeavor provides some hints about where the N.B.A. might be heading in its labor negotiations.
Iran's parliamentary election this Friday will not provide a definitive answer, but it may provide some hints.
But the ratings performance Monday night provides some hints that the latest exercise in relationship voyeurism has staying power.
It's quite exciting then, that we now have the tracklisting for the soundtrack to his next film, The Hateful Eight, providing some hints as to its tone.
