Questions · CEFR B1 · Independent
Don't you know? — English questions
A question asked in the negative is not really asking — it is showing surprise, or expecting agreement.
The shape
Don't / Isn't / Aren't + subject + verb
Express surprise, or check something you already believe.
In Hindi
नकार में पूछा गया सवाल असल में सवाल नहीं होता — वह हैरानी या सहमति की उम्मीद दिखाता है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
You do not know him? | Don't you know him? The negative helper has to move to the front, like any question. |
Learn these first
These come first. The rest of this makes more sense once they are automatic.
Questions people ask
- What is the don't you know? used for?
- A question asked in the negative is not really asking — it is showing surprise, or expecting agreement. In practice: express surprise, or check something you already believe.
- How do you form the don't you know??
- Don't / Isn't / Aren't + subject + verb.
- What is the most common mistake with the don't you know??
- Saying “You do not know him?” instead of “Don't you know him?”. The negative helper has to move to the front, like any question.
Where don't you know? fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Don't you know? is a CEFR B1 structure — the independent band — and it belongs to questions. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
Practise the don't you know? →