Ik ken dat lied niet.

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Breakdown of Ik ken dat lied niet.

• niet: not
• dat: that
• het lied: the song

Questions & Answers about Ik ken dat lied niet.

What is the difference between kennen and weten?

kennen means to be familiar with someone or something (people, places, works of art, songs, etc.). weten means to know a fact or piece of information.
• Use kennen when you “know” by experience:
– Ik ken dat lied niet. (I’m not familiar with that song.)
– Ik ken haar al drie jaar. (I’ve known her for three years.)
• Use weten when you “know” facts or answers:
– Ik weet niet hoe dat lied heet. (I don’t know what that song is called.)
– Weet jij het antwoord? (Do you know the answer?)

Why is niet used here, and why is it placed at the end of the sentence? Could I use geen instead?

In Dutch negation:

1. niet negates verbs, adjectives, adverbs and definite or specific objects.
2. The neutral position for niet when negating the entire verb phrase is after the direct object (or at the very end):
   – Ik ken dat lied niet.
3. You can shift niet before a specific element for emphasis, e.g. Ik ken niet dat lied (meaning “I don’t know that particular song, but maybe others”), but that’s less common.
4. geen negates indefinite nouns (like “any”). You’d say Ik ken geen lied (I don’t know any song), which changes the meaning.

Why is the demonstrative dat used instead of die, and how do demonstratives agree with Dutch nouns?