3.8 Did You Know? Language Lesson

3.8 Did You Know?
Language & Culture Lessons
In this lesson, you'll further your knowledge on how to personalize your sentences and focus on how to say you know or
don't know something. We'll also have a look at how verbs change when putting this type of sentence together.
Language Lesson
Did You Know?
Did you know that there are two ways of knowing in German? Both verbs wissen and kennen mean to know. As a
general rule, when you know (or don’t know) something, then it’s appropriate to use the verb wissen, specifically
when it’s about facts or knowing (about) things in a general sense, for example:
Ich weiß viel über amerikanische Geschichte.
I know a lot about American history.
When you know (or don’t know) someone, it is more appropriate to use the verb kennen. When referring to
knowledge about a subject that you know well, or something you are familiar with, and places kennen is generally
used, for example:
Let’s have a look at each verb and how it changes. Choosing which one to use will become easier with practice.
Ich kenne deinen Bruder.
I know your brother.
wissen
wissen = to know (something factual or general)
Ich weiß…
Singular
ich weiß
I know (something)
du weißt
You know (casual) (something)
er weiß
He knows (something)
sie weiß
She knows (something)
es weiß
It knows (something)
Sie wissen
You know (formal) (something)
Wir wissen...
Plural
wir wissen
We know (something)
ihr wisst
You know (casual) (something)
sie wissen
They know (something)
Sie wissen
You know (formal) (something)
kennen
kennen = to know (someone, or be familiar with a place or thing)
Ich kenne …
Singular
ich kenne
I know (someone)
du kennst
You know (casual) (someone)
er kennt
He knows (someone)
sie kennt
She knows (someone)
es kennt
It knows (someone)
Sie kennen
You know (formal) (someone)
Wir kennen…
Plural
wir kennen
We know (someone)
ihr kennt
You know (casual) (someone)
sie kennen
They know (someone)
Sie kennen
You know (formal) (someone)
Action Replay
Use wissen when you know something, talk about facts or in a more general sense.
Use kennen when you know a person or place, or when you are familiar with something.
For Example
Ich kenne ganz London!
I know all of London!
Du weißt alles über die neuesten Kinofilme.
You know all about the latest movies.
Er kennt seine Freundin sehr gut.
He knows his girlfriend very well.
Du kennst ihn, oder?
You know him, don’t you?
Sie kennt meine ganze Familie.
She knows my whole family.
Kennst du Marie?
Do you know Marie?
Weißt du auf welcher Seite der Artikel steht?
Do you know which page the article is on?
Wir wissen nicht wieviel Uhr es ist.
We don’t know what the time is.
Kennst du das Buch schon?
Do you know the book already?
Weißt du wann der nächste Bus fährt?
Do you know when the next bus leaves?
Kennt ihr die neue CD von Pavarotti?
Do you know the new CD from Pavarotti?
Some More Examples
Wisst ihr wann Paul Geburtstag hat?
Do you know when Paul’s birthday is?
Wir kennen Paul nicht.
We don’t know Paul.
Ich kenne dich, du machst immer Witze.
I know you, you always tell jokes.
Er weiß nicht was er will.
He doesn’t know what he wants.
Sie kennt sich hier nicht aus.
She doesn’t know her way around here.
Ich weiß nicht wo die Toiletten sind.
I don’t know where the toilets are.
Kennt ihr die Regeln von diesem Spiel?
Do you know the rules of this game?
Wissen Sie schon was Sie bestellen möchten?
Do you already know what you would like to order?
Wissen Sie viel über das Museum?
Do you know much about the museum?
Ihr kennt den Weg zum Restaurant, oder?
You know the way to the restaurant, don’t you?
Kennen Sie meine Schwester?
Do you know my sister?
Test your German skills!
To know or not to know!
Look at the following sentences and choose whether to use kennen or wissen in each context. Fill in the gaps with
the right form of either kennen or wissen.
1. _______ du wieviel Uhr es ist?
Do you know what time it is?
2. Ich _______ sie schon ewig.
I have known her for ages
3. Ich _______
I know
4. Er _______ viel über Mathematik.
He knows a lot about mathematics.
5. Ich _______mich hier nicht aus.
I don’t know my way around here.
6. Sie _______ viele Leute.
They know a lot of people.
7. Er _______ alle in der Nachbarschaft.
He knows everyone in the neighborhood.
8. Sie _______ sich nicht.
They don’t know each other.
9. Wir _______ nicht wo das Hotel ist.
We don’t know where the hotel is.
10. _______Sie wie alt sie ist?
Do you know how old she is?
11._______ Sie wie alt das Denkmal ist?
Do you know how old the monument is?
12. _______ ihr wo der Bahnhof ist?
Do you know where the train station is?
13. _______ du wann mein Geburtstag ist?
Do you know when my birthday is?
14. _______ Sie meine Freundin Julia?
Do you know my friend Julia?
15. Sie _______ wann der Film anfängt.
She knows when the movie starts.
16. _______ Sie wieviel das kostet?
Do you know how much that costs?
The Answers!
1. Weißt du wieviel Uhr es ist?
Do you know what time it is?
2. Ich kenne sie schon ewig.
I have known her for ages
3. Ich weiß.
I know.
4. Er weiß viel über Mathematik.
He knows a lot about mathematics.
5. Ich kenne mich hier nicht aus.
I don’t know my way around here.
6. Sie kennen viele Leute.
They know a lot of people.
7. Er kennt alle in der Nachbarschaft.
He knows everyone in the neighborhood.
8. Sie kennen sich nicht.
They don’t know each other.
9. Wir wissen nicht wo das Hotel ist.
We don’t know where the hotel is.
10. Wissen Sie wie alt sie ist?
Do you know how old she is?
11. Wissen Sie wie alt das Denkmal ist?
Do you know how old the monument is?
12. Wisst ihr wo der Bahnhof ist?
Do you know where the train station is?
13. Weißt du wann mein Geburtstag ist?
Do you know when my birthday is?
14. Kennen Sie meine Freundin Julia?
Do you know my friend Julia?
15. Sie weiß wann der Film anfängt.
She knows when the movie starts.
16. Wissen Sie wieviel das kostet?
Do you know how much that costs?
Culture
German Cars
Did you know that both the petrol powered car and the diesel engine were invented in Germany? Germany is famous
worldwide for it's high quality cars. The most popular being Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Volkswagen and BMW/
Bayerische Motoren Werke (Bavarian Motor Works). Porsche, Mercedes and BMW are all high performance cars. In
recent times car manufactures had a gentleman's agreement to electronically limit the top speed of their cars to 250
km/h, however car dealers can take this restriction off if requested by the customer. Without this limitation some
new models can go as fast as 300 km/h.
Lately a few car manufactures have looked into developing more fuel efficient cars. One example was the
Volkswagen Lupo, which can go 100 kilometers on 3 liters of diesel. Unfortunately the car wasn't as popular as
expected and has since been replaced by the Volkswagen Fox.
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