# You've let me "know" or "known?"



## cinderblock (Mar 10, 2016)

1A. You've let me *know* for the past hour.

or...

1B. You've let me *known* for the past hour.

Also...

2A. He had wondered why he *had never seen* them after his first week. 

or...

2B. He had wondered why he *never saw* them after his first week.


----------



## PrinzeCharming (Mar 10, 2016)

cinderblock said:


> 1A. You've let me *know* for the past hour.



Break it down. 
*
You've *= *you have. 

*_"You have let me know for the past hour."_

The "past hour" implies how long you've know*n* something. 




cinderblock said:


> 1B. You've let me *known* for the past hour.



And now, for this, I'd say something like ... 

*"You've made it known for the past hour." 

*This would imply repeated information. A child asking for candy throughout the shopping trip. Someone bragging about their recent success. This would also imply that you, hearing the news, were "let to know".


----------



## Sam (Mar 10, 2016)

The first one is 'know'. 

The second one is "they're interchangeable".


----------



## PrinzeCharming (Mar 10, 2016)

Sam said:


> The second one is "they're interchangeable".



As I was replying, the post was edited for the second half. 

Sam is right. You can use either one to say the same thing.


----------



## Patrick (Mar 10, 2016)

1A is correct. Know is a verb; known is an adjective. Known gives something the quality of having been understood/known. If you let somebody know something, it is their knowing that is in question, therefore know is correct.

Known would be used in this context: You have made it known to me.


----------



## Allysan (Mar 10, 2016)

I would never use 1B it just doesn't sound right. 1A is what I would personally go with. 'You've known' makes sense. 'You've let me known'... Sounds like Louisiana Cajun talk.


----------



## Bishop (Mar 10, 2016)

Agreed, find a better way to phrase number 1.


----------



## Flint (Mar 10, 2016)

cinderblock said:


> 1A. You've let me *know* for the past hour.
> 
> or...
> 
> 1B. You've let me *known* for the past hour.



IMO, it would be 1A because 'let' takes an object and infinitive (as complement):



> *let ​**VERB (lets, letting; past and past participle let)*
> 
> *1*[WITH OBJECT AND INFINITIVE] Not prevent or forbid; allow:
> 
> ...



http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/let

However, as Bishop suggested above, perhaps rephrasing it might be a better way to go if you feel it's too awkward.


----------



## Terry D (Mar 10, 2016)

1A may be technically correct, but it is vague and ambiguous. You have been letting me know _what_ for the past hour? Have I known it for the past hour, or did it take that long to transfer the information?

In my opinion, the sentence is incomplete. It doesn't carry enough information to be a satisfying sentence. This isn't a suggested rewrite -- it is, after all your sentence -- but I'd do something like this:

_For the past hour you've been letting me know just how X my Y is._


----------



## Patrick (Mar 10, 2016)

You've let me know for the past hour is a colloquialism. It's fine to use, although it might not be very well known to people in the States. It's another way of saying: you've upbraided me for the past hour, ie, you haven't stopped admonishing me for something for a certain period of time. The expression is used when somebody won't stop chivvying you.


----------



## Flint (Mar 10, 2016)

Patrick said:


> You've let me know for the past hour is a colloquialism. It's fine to use, although it might not be very well known to people in the States. It's another way of saying: you've upbraided me for the past hour, ie, you haven't stopped admonishing me for something for a certain period of time. The expression is used when somebody won't stop chivvying you.



Yeah, it's pretty standard over here. To me, it's (also) a sign of irritation when somebody has being going on and on about something. I guess American English might not have this colloquialism?


----------



## PrinzeCharming (Mar 10, 2016)

Terry D said:


> _For the past hour you've been letting me know just how X my Y is._



I am trying so hard to behave right now. :hopelessness:



Allysan said:


> I would never use 1B it just doesn't sound right. 1A is what I would personally go with. 'You've known' makes sense. 'You've let me known'... Sounds like Louisiana Cajun talk.



In regard to everything being discussed, I believe that's what threw me off. It's the way the example was phrased. It seems like a linguistic barrier, being a geographical difference, from where I am residing. Ya'll don't let me know this stuff here. It's always worth noting where the writer is from to grasp the understanding behind the context.


----------



## Flint (Mar 10, 2016)

PrinzeCharming said:


> It's always worth noting where the writer is from to grasp the understanding behind the context.



Definitely. I find it fascinating to see and learn about all these cultural differences.


----------



## cinderblock (Mar 10, 2016)

PrinzeCharming said:


> Break it down.
> *
> You've *= *you have.
> 
> ...



So would you be able to say...

"You've let me KNOWN." 

... if we take out the "past hour?"

And thank you for the re-write. I like made it known better, haha. 

I'm in the middle of making final edits on a story I wrote two years ago. My writing style has changed drastically since, so I've just been working out small grammatical fixes here and there (my mind's a bit taxed at the moment) to just keep the whole story in the "spirit" of when it was written... kinda like a time capsule. 



Patrick said:


> 1A is correct. Know is a verb; known is an adjective. Known gives something the quality of having been understood/known. If you let somebody know something, it is their knowing that is in question, therefore know is correct.
> 
> Known would be used in this context: You have made it known to me.



So it's "know," because "known" is an adjective?

But can't you say, "You've made me 'angry?'" Angry is also an adjective...



Patrick said:


> You've let me know for the past hour is a colloquialism. It's fine to use, although it might not be very well known to people in the States. It's another way of saying: you've upbraided me for the past hour, ie, you haven't stopped admonishing me for something for a certain period of time. The expression is used when somebody won't stop chivvying you.



Exactly. This is happening at the work place.



Flint said:


> Yeah, it's pretty standard over here. To me, it's (also) a sign of irritation when somebody has being going on and on about something. I guess American English might not have this colloquialism?



I'm based in Los Angeles, CA, so I'm pretty sure it's standard expression here...


----------



## Patrick (Mar 10, 2016)

cinderblock said:


> So would you be able to say...
> 
> "You've let me KNOWN."
> 
> ... if we take out the "past hour?"



No. That's still gobbledegook.




> So it's "know," because "known" is an adjective?
> 
> But can't you say, "You've made me 'angry?'" Angry is also an adjective...



You can also say, you've made me known. The question would then be to whom? Do you see?




> Exactly. This is happening at the work place.



10 points to Slytherin?




> I'm based in Los Angeles, CA, so I'm pretty sure it's standard expression here...



Perhaps it's more common in certain vernaculars. The States and the UK are very diverse.


----------



## bazz cargo (Mar 10, 2016)

Ummm... Does it make much of a difference if it is used in dialogue? Part of a reply for instance...


----------



## DaBlaRR (Mar 11, 2016)

delete........... something happened with my post.


----------



## DaBlaRR (Mar 11, 2016)

1b.... um what? Makes no sense to me. Go for A. 


There is so much wrong with 1b... Why would anyone even consider that?


----------



## cinderblock (Mar 11, 2016)

bazz cargo said:


> Ummm... Does it make much of a difference if it is used in dialogue? Part of a reply for instance...



Yes, this was used in dialogue.

"Do you have any idea what you've done today?"
"You've made it known for the past hour."



Patrick said:


> No. That's still gobbledegook.
> 
> You can also say, you've made me known. The question would then be to whom? Do you see?
> 
> ...



10 points indeed! 

As for the expression, it's quite standard. It's used in movies, etc. It's really not even an expression. Just a very common way to reply along these lines.


----------



## Jack of all trades (Mar 11, 2016)

Fixing, or attempting to fix, one sentence, out of context is pretty futile. The sentence is awkward. Rephrase a larger portion.


----------



## Radrook (Mar 11, 2016)

now
knew
know
known
knowing
knowingly
unknowingly
new
news
gnu
newbie
now
noun

English can be very confusing for the ESL learner.


----------



## David Gordon Burke (Mar 11, 2016)

2B is the only sentence that is worthy.

While 1A may be grammatically correct, it is clunky.  

David Gordon Burke


----------



## lvcabbie (Mar 12, 2016)

Why make it passive by using "have"?

You let me know for the past hour.  Now it's active.

And then, do it right - You told me for the past hour.

:emmersed:


----------

