Breakdown of Abgesehen von dem Abt kennen die Mönche den strengen Tagesablauf gut.
gut
good / well
kennen
to know (somebody/something)
streng
strict
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
abgesehen von
apart from
der Abt
the abbot
der Mönch
the monk
der Tagesablauf
the daily routine
Questions & Answers about Abgesehen von dem Abt kennen die Mönche den strengen Tagesablauf gut.
How could we rewrite this sentence using pflegen to say that the monks "usually" know the routine well?
You would place the conjugated verb pflegen in the second position and move kennen to the end of the clause as an infinitive preceded by zu. The sentence would become: Abgesehen von dem Abt pflegen die Mönche den strengen Tagesablauf gut zu kennen. This applies the formal structure from this lesson to emphasize their habitual state of knowing the routine.
Why is the phrase Abgesehen von followed by the dative case here?
Abgesehen von is a fixed expression meaning 'apart from' or 'except for'. Because it relies on the preposition von, which always triggers the dative case, the masculine noun der Abt must change its article to the dative form, dem.
Since Abt is a masculine noun referring to a person, why doesn't it take an -en ending in the dative like an n-declension noun?
While many masculine nouns referring to people are indeed n-declension (weak) nouns—like der Student or der Präsident—der Abt is simply a regular strong noun. It follows standard declension rules, so it does not gain an extra -en ending in the dative case and remains dem Abt.
Why do we use the verb kennen here instead of wissen?
In German, kennen is used when you are familiar with a noun or entity, such as a person, a place, or a concept like den Tagesablauf (the daily routine). Wissen is strictly for knowing facts and is usually followed by a subordinate clause (like a dass clause) or a pronoun. Because the monks are familiar with a specific routine, kennen is the required verb.
Why does the adjective streng end in -en in this sentence?
The noun phrase den strengen Tagesablauf is the direct object of the sentence, placing it in the accusative case. Because Tagesablauf is masculine, its definite article becomes den. After a masculine accusative definite article, adjectives always take the weak ending -en.
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