Verbs of Knowledge and Opinion
Aim: This exercise is to help you to avoid common confusions between the uses of the verbs know, learn, understand, think and believe.
- know
- This is used to describe a state of knowledge as in:
'I know that your organisation is heavily involved in China.'
However, be careful! If you mention the source of your knowledge, you should use 'understand' as in:
'From your annual report, I understand that you intend to enter the China market.'
- Students often make the mistake of using 'know' inappropriately in the
past tense, as in:
'...From the activity I knew how to...' or, 'I knew about this job from the SAO at the university.'
This is WRONG. You should use 'learned' instead. In the second example you could also use 'heard'.
- Students often make the mistake of using 'know' inappropriately in the
past tense when talking about people, as in:
'During my placement, I knew many people involved in the Social Services.'
This is WRONG. You should use 'met' or 'got to know'.
- think, believe
- These are used to express opinions and are used in the present tense, as
in:
I believe/think that I have all the necessary qualifications for the post.'
- 'Believe' can also be used in the sense of 'know', as is i. a. above (the only difference is that it is slightly less definite).
Your total score is:
Last updated on: Monday, March 26, 2012