Knew or new? These words might sound the same, but mean different things. Knew is a verb connected to knowledge, acquaintance, or mastery. On the other hand, new is an adjective describing something that previously did not exist or hadn’t been known. In this helpful guide, we’ll go over the differences between these terms and their proper use.
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What Does New Mean?
If something is new, it can mean it hasn’t existed before. For example, a food company may come out with a new product or flavor. It can also be something that already exists but hasn’t been known or acquired before.
The word itself is an adjective from the Old English nēowe, which is Germanic in origin. It’s also related to the Latin Novus.
Example sentences:
- Wear your new shirt and new shoes!
- A new body will take over this project.
- The New York Times released a new list of bestsellers.
- New custom courses are available.
- You can track course progress on your phone.
- You can experience some new sensations after taking this new medicine.
- There was a new upgrade to the system.
- There are many people in the new national cemetery.
- The teacher scheduled new quizzes for next week.
- There was a mutual astonishment in the science community.
- The police need to take account of new developments.
- The new neighbors came from Chicago.
- The new course lets students discover new trends in English grammar rules.
When and How to Use New?
As the examples show, new can apply in many different contexts. A common one is for something that has never before existed or been available. Another is something that already exists but which someone else has just acquired—examples: new shirts, dishes, friends, etc.
New can also describe non-concrete things, like a fresh idea or facts one wasn’t aware of before.
What Does Knew Mean?
Knew is the past tense of the verb know. Knowing something suggests possession of a specific piece of information, the ability to do a particular thing , or awareness of something. The word also indicates being acquainted with another person.
It comes from the Old English cnāwan, which earlier was gecnāwan. The words were Germanic in origin and meant “identity, recognize.”
Example sentences:
- Literary critics knew about the fiasco in New York City and Florida.
- The petty thief knew he was in trouble.
- Everybody knew it was a common spelling mistake.
- We knew about the exams last week.
- We knew about the typo in Time Magazine.
- Westerners knew about international terrorism.
- We knew she was a recluse.
- He knew he needed a license before traveling to Liverpool.
- I knew he was in the company of others.
- The deer knew coyotes were nearby and were very wary.
When and How to Use Knew?
You can see that there can be a lot of different contexts for the verb knew.
Often, it’s the possession of knowledge. This can mean knowing an answer or how to do something, like knowing how to tie a Figure-8 knot. It also applies to information one has learned, like knowing what the three branches of the U.S. government are.
It can also refer to possessing wisdom or good judgment, as in knowing better than to do a particular thing. And, of course, we use it in the context of being acquainted with someone.
Tip: The k in knew is always silent.
What’s the Difference?
There is only one major similarity between new and knew. They’re homophones (they sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings).
Beyond that, the words aren’t much alike at all. They’re different parts of speech (adjective and noun, respectively), and their meanings aren’t related at all.
Trick to Remembering Which Word To Use
Here’s a tip to help you remember whether to use knew or new:
Knew (the past tense of know) often has something to do with knowledge, and both begin with a k.
Another tip: Associate new with the term brand-new. You’ve probably never seen someone write brand-new.
Final Thoughts
New and knew are similar-sounding terms. But you don’t have to fret about choosing which one to use. Both words sound the same, but they have completely different meanings. Knew is past knowledge (because it is the past form of the verb), whereas new (an adjective) is something that is not known before. Once you know those meanings and associate them with their correct spellings, you shouldn’t have any problems.
