Did you know / Do you know

Question

Did you know Winne was sick today?Do you know Winne was sick today?What is the difference btw them?Thank you very much.

Danyoo · Accepted Answer

My CelineDid you know Winne was sick today?
You already know Winne was sick today. You are asking your co-worker if he/she knew also.

Do you know if Winne was sick today?
Your original sentence doesn't sound correct. You'd have to insert 'if' as shown above. In this case you don't know the answer. You are asking your co-worker to find out if Winne was out due to sickness.

What is the difference btw them?

Thank you very much.

Ruslana · Answer

Danyoo, hello!

Would you mind telling me whether it is always necessary to use "if" in the sentences starting with "Do you think" or "Do you know"?

For example, are there correct?

1a. Do you know it is good?
1b. Do you know IF it is good?

2a. Do you think it is wrong?
2b. Do you think IF it is wrong?

Teo · Answer

1. Did you know Winne was sick today?

2. Do you know Winne was sick today?

Sentence #1 can have basically the same meaning as #2, but sounds more polite. (attitudinal past)

Danyoo · Answer

Hi Teo,

Your thread in the posted url brings up a good point. Now that I think about it more, 'did' and 'do' can mean different things depending on the context.

1. Did you know Winne was sick today (you know Winne is sick)
2. Do you know if Winne was sick today (you don't know if Winne is sick)
In this case, there is no difference in degree of politeness.

A and B are talking about how many people are employeed by company XYZ.
A: I am pretty sure we have close to 50,000 employees.
B: No, I think we only have 30,000.
A1: Did you know we have 37,000 just at the corporate headquarters?
A2: Do you know we have 37,000 just at the corporate headquarters?
Here I agree A1 sounds more polite than A2. Both of these are rhetorical questions, i.e., you are not actually asking a question. Rather you are stating a fact that you already know.

Danyoo · Answer

Hi Ruslana. Let me modify your sentences a little and see how they sound.

1a. Do you know it is good to take vitamin pills?
OK to use if you already know the answer. Use "Did" instead to sound more polite.
1b. Do you know IF it is good to take vitamin pills?
OK to use if you don't know the answer.

2a. Do you think it is wrong?
Imagine a father talking to his 5-year-old son.
Father: Do you think it's wrong to hit your little sister?
Son: Yes, Dad. I am sorry I won't do it again.
Obviously the father already knows the answer.

2b. Do you think IF it is wrong?
I don't think this sentence is grammatical, but I can't explain why. Maybe someone else on this forum can explain.

Teo · Answer

Teo · Answer

1. There ____ one small park and two schools in our neighborhood.
(a) is (b) are

(a) is much more common than (b).

2. There ____ two small parks and one school in our neighborhood.
(a) is (b) are

(b) is correct.

Ruslana · Answer

Danyoo, thank you!

But I don't understant one thing. You wrote: "Did you know we HAVE 37,000 just at the corporate headquarters?"

According to sequence of tenses, it must be HAD written there. But you used HAVE. Why? I don't quite understang something, do I?

Teo, hello! Why did you write these sentences above?

Teo · Answer

RuslanaTeo, hello! Why did you write these sentences above?

Sorry. I made a mistake.

NaOH · Answer

But I don't understant one thing. You wrote: "Did you know we HAVE 37,000 just at the corporate headquarters?"

According to sequence of tenses, it must be HAD written there. But you used HAVE. Why? I don't quite understang something, do I?
_____________________________________
yeah im a bit confused too. But i somehow know tht above sentences do make sense.
if you had written HAD in tht sentence it wud have meant that that in the past the company had tht much of a strength, and it could have changed over the years.
still waiting for danyoo to reply.

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