Breakdown of Ich habe die Lösung, denn ich kenne den Fehler.
ich
I
haben
to have
kennen
to know (somebody/something)
denn
because
die Lösung
the solution
der Fehler
the mistake
Questions & Answers about Ich habe die Lösung, denn ich kenne den Fehler.
Why doesn't the word denn push the verb to the end of the sentence?
Because denn is a coordinating conjunction. These connecting words (like und, oder, aber, and denn) sit in what we call Position 0. They glue two main sentences together without messing up the word order. After denn, you just start counting normally: ich is position 1, and the verb kenne is in position 2.
Does the comma before denn matter?
Yes! In German, you must always put a comma before denn when it connects two parts of a sentence. It separates the two distinct ideas.
Why is it den Fehler and not der Fehler?
Fehler (mistake) is a masculine noun. Here, it is the direct object of the verb kenne (it is the thing being known). This means it takes the accusative case, so the masculine word for 'the' changes from der to den.
Is die Lösung also in the accusative case?
Exactly! Lösung (solution) is the direct object of the verb habe, so it is in the accusative case too. But because Lösung is a feminine noun, its article doesn't change. The feminine 'the' is die in both the subject (nominative) and the object (accusative) cases.
Learn Ich habe die Lösung, denn ich kenne den Fehler and more in German
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