Breakdown of Der Detektiv kannte das Rätsel und dachte an das Motiv.
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 Rätsel und dachte an das Motiv.
Why are kannte and dachte called 'mixed' verbs in the simple past?
They mix rules from both regular (weak) and irregular (strong) verbs. Like strong verbs, they change their stem vowel (kennen changes to kannte, denken changes to dachte). But like weak verbs, they add a -te ending for the simple past instead of having no ending.
Could I use wusste instead of kannte to say he knew the puzzle?
No, you need kannte here. The verb kennen (past tense: kannte) is used when you are familiar with a noun, like a person, place, or a thing like das Rätsel. The verb wissen (past tense: wusste) is for knowing facts, usually followed by a question word or a whole clause.
Why is it dachte an instead of dachte über for 'thought about'?
In German, the verb denken automatically pairs with the preposition an to mean 'to think of' or 'to think about'. Even though English translates this using 'about', you have to memorize that denken goes with an.
Why does an take the accusative case (das Motiv) here instead of the dative?
an is a two-way preposition. It often takes the dative case when describing a physical location. However, when it is permanently paired with a specific verb for an abstract meaning, like denken an, it almost always takes the accusative case. Since Motiv is neuter, the article is das.
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