Breakdown of sensei wa watashi ga doko ni sunde iru ka shitte imasu.
はwa
topic particle
私watashi
I
先生sensei
teacher
かka
question particle
がga
subject particle
どこdoko
where
にni
location particle
住むsumu
to live
知るshiru
to know
〜て いる〜te iru
progressive form
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Questions & Answers about sensei wa watashi ga doko ni sunde iru ka shitte imasu.
Why does the sentence use は after 先生 but が after 私?
The particle は marks the topic of the main sentence (“as for the teacher…”), while が marks the subject of the embedded clause (“I” is the one living somewhere). So 先生は sets “the teacher” as the overall topic, and 私が shows who is doing the action inside “私がどこに住んでいる.”
What is the function of か after 住んでいる?
That か isn’t a question-ending particle here, but the marker for an embedded (indirect) question. It nominalizes the clause “私がどこに住んでいる,” turning “where I live” into a noun-like object for 知っている.
Why isn’t there an を before 知っています?
When you embed a question with か, the entire clause already functions as the object of 知っている, so no を is needed. If you used the nominalizer こと instead, you would say 私がどこに住んでいることを知っています, with を.
Why is the verb for “to live” expressed as 住んでいる instead of 住みます?
In Japanese, living somewhere is considered an ongoing state, so you use the –ている form (住んでいる) to express that continuous condition. The simple present 住みます would sound like “I will live” or “I live (habitually),” but 住んでいる specifically means “I am (currently) living.”
Why is 知っている in the –ている form (知っています)?
The verb 知る describes a state of “knowing,” so it naturally appears as 知っている to indicate that state. In polite speech you add the ます-ending: 知っています = “(someone) knows.”
Why is 住んでいる plain but 知っています polite?
Japanese style usually keeps subordinate clauses (like どこに住んでいるか) in the plain form, even in polite sentences. Only the main predicate (知っています) carries the polite ます form to match the overall level of politeness.
Can I replace か with こと here?
Yes. You could say:
先生は私がどこに住んでいることを知っています.
Using こと nominalizes the clause, but then you need the object marker を before 知っています. The nuance is almost the same.
Can I omit 私が?
Often yes, if context makes it clear whose residence you’re talking about. You’d get:
先生はどこに住んでいるか知っています.
Including 私が simply clarifies that “I” (and not someone else) is the one living there.
How would I turn this into a direct question (“Does the teacher know where I live?”)?
Add the question particle か at the end of the sentence:
先生は私がどこに住んでいるか知っていますか。
This makes it a direct yes/no question.