Breakdown of Ich wusste von der Gefahr und hatte Angst.
ich
I
und
and
von
from, of / by (agent in passive clauses)
wissen
to know (a fact)
Angst haben
to be afraid
die Gefahr
the danger
Questions & Answers about Ich wusste von der Gefahr und hatte Angst.
Why is it wusste and not kannte? I thought both mean "knew".
Wissen (and its past tense wusste) is used for knowing facts or knowing about something, like the danger here. Kennen (past tense kannte) is used when you are familiar with a person, place, or thing. Since you knew about the danger, wusste is the correct choice.
Is wusste a regular or irregular verb in the past tense?
It is a mixed verb, meaning it has features of both! It changes its vowel from the infinitive wissen, which is irregular, but it also adds the standard simple past -te ending, which is regular.
Why does the sentence use der Gefahr? Isn't danger a feminine word (die Gefahr)?
Yes, Gefahr is a feminine noun. However, the preposition von always requires the dative case. In the dative case, the feminine article die changes to der.
The English translation says "was afraid", but doesn't hatte mean "had"?
Exactly! In German, you do not say you are afraid, you say you have fear (Angst haben). So, "I was afraid" translates directly to ich hatte Angst (I had fear).
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