Wir kennen dieses Gebiet gut.

we

Breakdown of Wir kennen dieses Gebiet gut.

• gut: well
• kennen: to know
• dieser: this

Questions & Answers about Wir kennen dieses Gebiet gut.

Why is the verb kennen used here, not wissen?

German often makes a distinction that English does not:

• kennen = to know a person, place, book, song, or something you are familiar with
• wissen = to know a fact, piece of information, or answer

So:

• Wir kennen dieses Gebiet gut. = We are familiar with this area/region well.
• Wir wissen, wo dieses Gebiet liegt. = We know where this area is located.

Because Gebiet is a thing/place you are familiar with, kennen is the natural verb here.

What case is dieses Gebiet, and how can I tell?

Dieses Gebiet is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of kennen.

In the sentence:

• Wir = subject
• kennen = verb
• dieses Gebiet = direct object
• gut = adverb

So the structure is:

• We know this area well.

Since Gebiet is neuter singular, the accusative form of dieser is dieses.

That is why you get:

• nominative: dieses Gebiet
• accusative: dieses Gebiet

For neuter singular, nominative and accusative look the same here.

Why is it dieses and not dieser or diese?