Why do you say that? / Why did you say that? 

As above.

I wrote it without thinking about it, and it is both natural and correct (at least in British English), but, when I came to write the explanatory notes page, I had to stop and think about it.

I wrote it as part of the dialogue below:

______________________________________________________

A: Would you believe it?

B: What?

A: My dog.

B: What about him?

A: He thinks he’s a person.

B: Why do you say that?

A: He sleeps in my bedroom, he watches TV with me, and he always eats when I do.

B: It’s not as though you treat him like a dog. You are too soft.

______________________________________________________

There are similar things that are much easier to explain using only simple English.

For example: Do you know? / Did you know?

Do you know___? (at this present moment)

Ex: Do you know the queen’s husband is from a Greek family?

OR

Did you know___? (Did you know this in the past)

Ex: Did you know the queen’s husband was from a Greek family?

We can use either to ask the same question and, without thinking too deeply about it, might use either one on separate occasions to do so.

What I cannot manage to express using only simple English (not translating into Japanese) is [Why do you say that?] and  [Why did you say that?]

If you can help a teacher suffering from brain-freeze, I know he will be grateful.
Thanks a lot.

First thing that springs to mind is the difference in question�form.

�

Thanks Alien Boy.

�

I say that�[Why do you say that?] as that �s what I would say without thinking.

I know that �s not much of an answer in explanatory terms, but that �s the point here.

�

To me, asking [why did you�say that?] means I want to know the reason the person uttered that sentence, but asking�[Why do you say that?] means I want to know / am more interested in the reason behind that person �s thought - I �d like an explanation.

I have almost answered my own question there by trying to make it clear enough in my mind to be able to offer an answer (or try to).

�

If you say�this to yourself�out load placing emphasis on / with the intonation on�"that",�it may be clearer to you why I feel that it is both natural and correct. Certainly it is grammatically correct, and �natural� only indicates that a native speaker does not think it to be strange.

�

If I have not satisfied you with this answer.... that is because I am still wavering over whether it is as I think it is... which is the point of my post. Thanks again for your thoughts.

Lynne: LOL

Thank you everyone.

That helps me and makes me feel a little more confident in doing this one only in English.... but my students will give me the �in Japanese, please � eye anyway.
:)