Questions & Answers about Нет, я не знаю художника.
Why does the word for artist end in -а (художника) instead of just художник?
Because it is the direct object of the sentence (the person you do not know), so it must be in the accusative case. For masculine animate nouns (living beings, like an artist), the accusative case adds an -а, making it look exactly like the genitive case.
Wait, doesn't using не (not) mean the object should be in the genitive case?
Great memory! Verbs with не often take the genitive case, especially for abstract concepts or to show complete absence. However, for specific, concrete people, the accusative is often still used. Luckily, for masculine animate nouns like художник, the accusative and genitive endings are completely identical (-а), so you are covered either way!
How does the verb знаю change if I want to say "he does not know the artist"?
The verb знать (to know) is a regular verb. For я (I), the ending is -ю (знаю). If you want to say "he" (он), you change the ending to -ет, making it: Он не знает художника.
Could I change the word order to "Нет, я художника не знаю"?
Yes, you can! Russian word order is very flexible. The standard neutral order is Subject-Verb-Object (just like English), which gives us я не знаю художника. If you put художника before the verb, it shifts the emphasis slightly: "As for the artist, I don't know him (but I might know the writer)."
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