kono jidai o shitte imasu.

direct object particle

Breakdown of kono jidai o shitte imasu.

• この: this
• 知しる: to know
• いる: to exist (animate)

Questions & Answers about kono jidai o shitte imasu.

Why is 知っています used here? I thought -ている usually means is doing something.

That is a very common question.

With many verbs, -ている does mean an ongoing action, like 食べています = is eating.

But 知る is different. 知る means something like to come to know or to learn. Once that happens, the result is a state of knowing. So:

• 知る = come to know
• 知っている = be in the state of knowing = know

So 知っています is the polite form of 知っている, and it naturally means know, not am knowing.

---

What does the particle を do in this sentence?

を marks the direct object of the verb.

Here, the verb is 知っています (know), and the thing being known is この時代.

So:

• この時代 = this era / this period
• を = marks it as the thing known
• 知っています = know

In other words, この時代を知っています means that this era/period is what the speaker knows.

---

Why is there no word for I or you in the sentence?