Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[juliete]

"Do you understand?" in usage 1 is easy for me to understand.

But "Did you understand?" in usage 2 is difficult for me to understand. Does "Did you understand?" in usage 2 make sense? If it does, what does it mean?

Usage 1
Mr. A said, "You shouldn't meet Mr. Smith. I'll meet him instead of you. Do you understand?"

Usage 2
Mr. A said, "You shouldn't meet Mr. Smith. I'll meet him instead of you. Did you understand?"

[CP]

Usually, you would hear, "Do you understand?", meaning, "Did I make myself clear to you, so that now you understand?"

If the person said, "Did you understand?", it would probably mean that he had said he would meet Mr. Smith already, and now is telling you that again, and checking whether you understood it the first time.
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[juliete]

Thank you very much for replying me always, CP.
Very clear, interesting, and easy for me to understand!

May I ask a little more?

(1)
If Mr. A hadn't said he would meet Mr. Smith already, doesn't "Did you understand?" make sense?

(2)
If Mr. A hadn't said he would meet Mr. Smith already, does "Did you understand?" have a politer or modester feeling than "Do you understand?"

(3)
If Mr. A had said he would meet Mr. Smith already, does "Did you understand?" have a politer or modester feeling than "Do you understand?"