Did You Know vs Do You Know
“Do” is present tense, so do you know
= do you currently know (at this moment)
Ex: Do you know we have a test today? (Are you aware of it?)
“Did” is past tense, so did you know
= have you previously known something
Ex: Did you know we have a test today? (Did you previously know it?)
“Knowing” can be divided into two groups:
Knowing how & Knowing that
1)Knowing how
Ex: Do you know how to make sushi? (present tense)
Ex: When you started 1st grade, did you already know how to read? (past tense)
2) Knowing that
*When using “knowing that” the past tense is used for knowledge that existed in the past.
Ex: Did you know that my sister is pregnant?
*You can use present tense for present knowledge:
Ex: Do you know that the meeting was canceled?
However, past tense is more commonly used:
Ex: Did you know that the meeting was canceled?
*The past tense is often used when the questioner expects the listener doesn’t know a fact.
Ex: Did you know that Jupiter has 17 moons?
Ex: Did you know that basketball was invented by a Canadian?
Ex: Did you know that Nintendo started in 1889?
