Breakdown of Kein Hund kann fliegen.
der Hund
the dog
kein
no, not any
fliegen
to fly
können
can / to be able to
Questions & Answers about Kein Hund kann fliegen.
Why is fliegen at the very end of the sentence?
This shows the sentence bracket (Satzklammer) in action! When you use a modal verb, the conjugated modal (kann) takes the normal second position in the sentence. The main action verb (fliegen) gets pushed all the way to the end in its dictionary form (infinitive).
Why is the modal verb kann instead of können?
The subject is Kein Hund (No dog), which is a singular third-person subject, just like he, she, or it. The modal verb können is irregular, so its he/she/it form is kann. Notice that it does not take the usual -t ending that regular verbs do!
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