Breakdown of Der Detektiv kannte das Motiv und dachte an das Rätsel.
und
and
kennen
to know (somebody/something)
denken an
to think about
der Detektiv
the detective
das Motiv
the motive
das Rätsel
the mystery
Questions & Answers about Der Detektiv kannte das Motiv und dachte an das Rätsel.
Why is the simple past of kennen conjugated as kannte?
Kennen is a mixed verb. This means it mixes features of regular (weak) and irregular (strong) verbs in the simple past. Like a regular verb, it gets a -te ending. But like an irregular verb, its stem vowel changes (the e becomes an a). So, kennen becomes kannte.
How do we get from denken to dachte?
Denken is another mixed verb, but it has an extra twist. Along with the vowel change (e to a) and the regular -te ending, the consonants nk change to ch. This makes dachte. You will see a similar pattern with bringen (to bring), which becomes brachte.
Why is it an das Rätsel (accusative) instead of an dem Rätsel (dative)?
The preposition an is a two-way preposition. When talking about physical location, it changes case based on movement. However, when it is part of a fixed abstract phrase like denken an (to think about), it always requires the accusative case.
Why does the sentence use kannte for knew instead of wusste?
In German, wissen (past tense: wusste) is used for knowing facts or information. Kennen (past tense: kannte) is used when you are familiar with a noun, like a person, place, or in this case, a specific object like das Motiv (the motive).
Learn Der Detektiv kannte das Motiv und dachte an das Rätsel 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