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Kai
English Grammar
Hi friends, should I use past tense or present tense when you ask someone if they notice a fact in English?
1. Did you realize that the world is cruel?
2. Did you know that he is actually a good person?
3. Did you notice that the poor is always the first one to suffer?
Apr 29, 2020 4:57 AM
Answers · 5
1
Hi Kai, the most common way to ask if somebody knows a fact is #2. Eg. Did you know the UK has many different accents?
Numbers 1 and 3 would be used to ask about more specific situations. For example, did you notice/realise she was upset yesterday?
Hope this answers your question!
April 29, 2020
THanks alot
May 8, 2020
1. _Do_ you realize that the world is cruel?
2. Did you know that he _was_ actually a good person?
3. Did you notice that the poor _are_ always the first to suffer?
April 29, 2020
In my opinion, I think present tense is more appropriate if you talk about obvious facts. But if you ask about their opinion about a topic, the best tense should be present perfect which means it is identified in the past and continued to the present.
April 29, 2020
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Kai
Language Skills
Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Hokkien), English, Indonesian, Malay, Russian
Learning Language
Chinese (Cantonese), English, Indonesian, Malay, Russian
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