Breakdown of Sie haben kein Interesse daran.
haben
to have
kein
no, not any
sie
they
daran
about it / of it
das Interesse
the interest (curiosity, attention)
Questions & Answers about Sie haben kein Interesse daran.
Why is daran used here instead of a literal translation like "in es"?
The noun Interesse requires the fixed preposition an (meaning "interest in"). When a preposition is followed by "it" referring to an inanimate object or an abstract idea, German combines them into a da-compound. Since an starts with a vowel, we add an -r- for pronunciation, making it daran.
Is the preposition an connected to the verb haben or the noun Interesse?
It is directly tied to the noun das Interesse. Just like verbs, many German nouns require specific prepositions to complete their meaning. Whenever you talk about having "interest in" something, you will use Interesse an, regardless of the verb being used in the sentence.
What case does the preposition an take after Interesse?
Interesse an always requires the dative case. You cannot see the case when it is tucked inside the word daran, but if you replaced "it" with a specific noun, you would need the dative. For example: Sie haben kein Interesse an dem Buch (They have no interest in the book).
Why is the sentence negated with kein rather than nicht?
We are directly negating the noun Interesse, which is functioning here as an indefinite concept without an article (literally "no interest"). In German, nouns without articles or with indefinite articles (ein/eine) are practically always negated with a form of kein, whereas nicht is used for verbs, adjectives, or nouns with definite articles.
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