Questions & Answers about Bartendern känner jag inte.
Why is the object Bartendern at the beginning of the sentence?
In Swedish, you can move the object to the front of the sentence to emphasize it. This gives the feeling of "As for the bartender, I don't know him," which contrasts the bartender with someone else you might know.
Why is the word order känner jag instead of jag känner?
This is the V2 (verb-second) rule in action. Because the object Bartendern takes up the first position in the sentence, the verb känner must come immediately after it in the second position. This forces the subject jag to move after the verb.
Why use känner here instead of vet for the word "know"?
In Swedish, känner is used for knowing people, places, or things through personal experience or acquaintance. Vet is used for knowing facts or information. Since you are talking about being acquainted with a person, känner is the correct choice.
If I wanted to say "I don't know of the bartender," how would this sentence change?
You would add the particle till, making the phrasal verb känner till. The sentence would become Bartendern känner jag inte till. This means you haven't even heard of him, whereas the original sentence just means you haven't met him.