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I saw this sentence on a website

"He always knows what I am doing"

shouldn't it be like

"he always knows what I do"

Because what I am doing is in a progressive manner and the sentence means a general knowledge of what she does.

ColleenV
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d.alex
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2 Answers2

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Short answer: You're on the right track, but no.

Long answer: Is what you do every second the same thing you're always doing?

If yes, then, yes, "He always knows what I do," is correct.

If no, then, we would use the present progressive as the writer had, saying, "He always knows what I am doing."

As an aside, "He always knows what I do," could also mean...

He always knows what I do (for work).

...since "do" may sometimes denote talking about your occupation in the present tense.

Does this answer your question better?

Community
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Teacher KSHuang
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  • Thank you for answer if the sentence were 'he always knows that I am going there' , the answer is same ? – d.alex Jan 04 '17 at 19:38
  • @b.east Heh, actually, no. Both "what I'm doing" and "going there" are events, but the latter is a specific habit you have, so you should use the present tense, "go there." Meaning, I would write the new sentence as, "He always knows that I go there." Does this help answer your question? – Teacher KSHuang Jan 05 '17 at 08:21
  • @b.east I changed my answer a bit, so you may want to take a look at it again and let me know if this better answers your question. – Teacher KSHuang Jan 05 '17 at 08:51
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The problem with the second sentence is that the word "always" conflicts with the English usage of the plain present tense, which is used for continued or habitual action. You can say "He knows what I do", which is a kind of short form of "He knows what I usually do". It makes no sense to apply the adverb "always" to general knowledge of that sort.

The first sentence makes sense because "what I am doing" changes constantly, so there is a difference between "He knows what I am doing" (at this moment) and "He always knows what I am doing" (at every moment).

Richard Hussong
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  • Thanks for your answer. well is it possible to use such a sentence "he knows that I am using this car". But please consider that know is used in everlasting meaning(not like for just now or a short period of time). I hope I could explain it – d.alex Jan 05 '17 at 05:45
  • I don't know if "always" is an issue here. If the writer had wanted you to know that "he" always knows the speaker's job, then "He always knows what I do" could work. Though I would agree that it sounds a little awkward. – Teacher KSHuang Jan 05 '17 at 08:55