Word
Kennst du die Einkommensgrenze?
Meaning
Do you know the income limit?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Kennst du die Einkommensgrenze?
du
you (informal singular)
kennen
to know (somebody/something)
die Einkommensgrenze
the income limit
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Questions & Answers about Kennst du die Einkommensgrenze?
Why is there an -s- in the middle of Einkommensgrenze?
This is a linking element (called a Fugenlaut). It connects the two nouns das Einkommen (income) and die Grenze (limit) to make the word flow better. While there are few absolute rules for linking elements, neuter nouns ending in -en that originate from verbs (like das Einkommen) very frequently use an -s- to connect to the next word.
Since Einkommen is neuter (das) and Grenze is feminine (die), how do we determine the article for the combined word?
Compound nouns always take the gender of their final word. Because the final word is die Grenze, the entire compound is feminine, which gives us die Einkommensgrenze. The first part of the word simply describes the final part.
Why is kennen (kennst) used here instead of wissen (weißt) for "to know"?
You use kennen when you are asking if someone is familiar with a specific noun, entity, or concept (it takes a direct object, like die Einkommensgrenze). You use wissen when expressing knowledge of a fact, which is usually followed by a question word or a clause. For example, if you used wissen, the sentence would look like this: Weißt du, wo die Einkommensgrenze liegt? (Do you know where the income limit lies?).
How would I make Einkommensgrenze plural? Does the linking -s- change?