Breakdown of Der Detektiv wusste den Namen, aber er kannte den Mörder nicht.
er
he
aber
but
nicht
not
der Name
the name
kennen
to know (somebody/something)
wissen
to know (a fact)
der Detektiv
the detective
der Mörder
the murderer
Questions & Answers about Der Detektiv wusste den Namen, aber er kannte den Mörder nicht.
Both wusste and kannte translate to "knew." Why use two different verbs in this sentence?
This is a classic trap for English speakers! In German, wissen is used for knowing a fact or a piece of information (like a name, so wusste den Namen). Kennen means to be familiar with or acquainted with a person, place, or thing (like the murderer, so kannte den Mörder).
Why is the past tense of wissen formed as wusste here?
Wissen is a "mixed verb." This means it mixes rules: it acts like an irregular verb because its stem vowel changes (from i to u), but it also acts like a regular verb by taking the standard past tense ending -te. Since der Detektiv is a third-person singular subject (he), the verb becomes wusste.
Is kannte also a mixed verb?
Yes! It comes from the infinitive kennen. Just like wissen, it changes its stem vowel in the simple past (from e to a) and adds the regular -te ending. For the subject er (he), it becomes kannte.
Why does the word for name have an "n" at the end (den Namen)?
The noun der Name belongs to a special group of masculine nouns that follow "N-declension" (sometimes called weak nouns). These nouns add an -n or -en to their ending in every case except the subject (nominative) case. Since the name is the direct object being known here (accusative case), der Name changes to den Namen.
Why does nicht go at the very end of the sentence instead of right after kannte?
In the second clause (er kannte den Mörder nicht), nicht is negating the entire idea of knowing the murderer, rather than just a specific word. When negating a whole action or clause, nicht gets pushed to the very end of the sentence.
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