Midway through the novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry suffers a searing pain in the scar on his head. Ron, alarmed, wonders if Voldemort is near. Harry's response is immediate: “He's probably miles away. It hurt because … he's … angry.” The narrator then continues:

What are we to gather from the narrator's comments? We may, I submit, conclude that Voldemort was indeed very angry, that Harry was spot on in saying so, and that if he were asked how he knew, he would not be able to tell us. We may also infer—can we not?—that Harry was on solid ground when he said that Voldemort was angry, even if neither he nor we are able to elaborate. Harry was not, that is, merely guessing: the narrator is crediting him with some kind of recognitional capacity. This is an example of the way “S/he knows …” is used. And the logical implications of the narrator's claim are part of what we learn and understand when we master natural language—in this case, English.

The scene continues when Harry, again quite suddenly, blurts out an explanation for why Voldemort is angry: “He wants something done, and it's not happening fast enough,” he said. The narrator explains: “Again, he felt surprised to hear the words coming out of his mouth, and yet was quite certain they were true.” Harry was convinced that Voldemort wanted something done and that it was not happening fast enough. Can we conclude with as much confidence as before that Harry was right: that Voldemort did indeed want something done and that it was not happening fast enough? Probably. But by claiming that Harry was certain, the narrator is not committing herself, as she did above, to the truth of what he said. This is an example of the way “S/he is certain …” is used.