ELONIO
Log inSign up

Hij kent het woord niet.

Hij kent het woord niet.
He does not know the word.
From Lesson 13:Yes/no questions·Dutch

Questions & Answers about Hij kent het woord niet.

How do I turn this statement into a yes/no question?
You swap the subject (hij) and the verb (kent) to put the verb first. The question becomes: Kent hij het woord niet? (Doesn't he know the word?).
Do I drop the '-t' from kent when I turn this into a question?
No, you keep the '-t' here! The special rule about dropping the '-t' at the end of a verb in questions only applies to jij or je (you). Because the subject here is hij (he), the verb stays exactly the same: Kent hij...?
Why is the Dutch word for "knows" kent here, instead of weet?
Dutch has two common verbs for "to know". Kennen (used here as kent) means to be familiar with a noun—like a person, a place, or het woord (the word). Weten is used for knowing facts or having information, such as knowing what a word means.
Why does niet (not) go at the very end of the sentence?
In Dutch, when you use niet to negate a sentence that has a specific, definite object (like het woord, which means the word), niet usually gets pushed all the way to the end, after that object.

Learn Hij kent het woord niet and more in Dutch

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Dutch →