Questions & Answers about Ik ken de vrouw niet.
Why does ken only have one n when the full verb is kennen?
The infinitive is kennen. It has a double n to keep the e sound short. To find the verb stem for ik (I), you take off the -en, which leaves kenn. However, a strict rule in Dutch spelling is that words never end in a double consonant. Therefore, we drop the extra n to get the final form ken.
Why use ken here instead of weet for "know"?
Dutch has two different verbs that mean "to know". You must use kennen when you are familiar or acquainted with a person, place, or thing (like knowing the woman here). You use weten when you know a fact, a skill, or a piece of information.
Why does niet go at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, the position of niet (not) changes depending on what is in the sentence. When you have a specific direct object—in this case, de vrouw (the woman)—niet gets pushed to the end, coming directly after that object.