Breakdown of Ich kenne deinen Chef und deine Partnerin.
ich
I
und
and
der Chef
the boss (male)
kennen
to know (somebody/something)
dein
your (informal)
deinen
your (informal singular, accusative masculine)
die Partnerin
the partner (female)
Questions & Answers about Ich kenne deinen Chef und deine Partnerin.
Why is it deinen Chef and not just dein Chef?
Chef is a masculine noun, and it is the direct object in this sentence (the person being known). This puts it in the accusative case. For masculine nouns in the accusative, the word for "your" (dein) must take an -en ending, becoming deinen.
Why is the second "your" just deine instead of deinen?
Possessive endings change based on the gender of the noun they are attached to. Partnerin is a feminine noun. In the accusative case, possessives for feminine nouns just take an -e at the end. The -en ending we saw in deinen is strictly for masculine nouns.
How do we know Partnerin refers specifically to a female partner?
In German, you can often turn a masculine noun for a person or profession into a feminine noun by adding the suffix -in. The word for a male partner is Partner, so adding -in makes it Partnerin (female partner).
Could I use a form of wissen instead of kenne to say "I know"?
No, you must use kennen here. German has two main verbs for "to know". You use kennen when you are familiar with a person, place, or thing. You use wissen only when you know a fact or piece of information. Since you are talking about knowing people, kenne is the correct choice.
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