3.8 Did you know?
The example shows: "Ich weiß viel über amerikanische Geschichte."
(I know lots about American history.)
However, the explanation says:
"...When referring to knowledge about a subject that you know well, or something you are familiar with, and places kennen is generally used ..."
Confusing. Which one should it be - wissen or kennen?
kennen vs. wissen
Hi there,
sorry about the confusion, I know it's not the easiest thing to get your head around.
Generally the rule that you mentioned applies. However there are always exception, it's German after all.
One exception is that the word "über" goes with "wissen".
"Etwas wissen über" means "to know something about". Even if you refer to a person you would use "wissen" in this case.
Ich weiss viel über ihn - I know a lot about him
Ich weiss viel über Hunde - I know a lot about dogs
BUT
Ich kenne ihn - I know him
Ich kenne viele Hunde - I know many dogs
Same with the example about American history - it is something you know about so you use "wissen über"
Ich weiss viel über amerikanische Geschichte - I know a lot about American history
BUT
Ich kenne viele Geschichten - I know a lot of stories.
I hope that helps.
Please let me know if you would like me to give you more examples. You can always post some sentences and I can tell you if you got them right.
All the best
Paul
sorry about the confusion, I know it's not the easiest thing to get your head around.
Generally the rule that you mentioned applies. However there are always exception, it's German after all.
One exception is that the word "über" goes with "wissen".
"Etwas wissen über" means "to know something about". Even if you refer to a person you would use "wissen" in this case.
Ich weiss viel über ihn - I know a lot about him
Ich weiss viel über Hunde - I know a lot about dogs
BUT
Ich kenne ihn - I know him
Ich kenne viele Hunde - I know many dogs
Same with the example about American history - it is something you know about so you use "wissen über"
Ich weiss viel über amerikanische Geschichte - I know a lot about American history
BUT
Ich kenne viele Geschichten - I know a lot of stories.
I hope that helps.
Please let me know if you would like me to give you more examples. You can always post some sentences and I can tell you if you got them right.
All the best
Paul
Thank you for the explanation.
Since this is a "beginning" course, I assumed that the examples would match the rules. I am well aware that all things have exceptions. In a beginning course, I would like to see the exception labeled as an exception. Otherwise, it causes more confusion. I have a hard time learning "by exception." I would rather learn "by example."
-Bruce
Since this is a "beginning" course, I assumed that the examples would match the rules. I am well aware that all things have exceptions. In a beginning course, I would like to see the exception labeled as an exception. Otherwise, it causes more confusion. I have a hard time learning "by exception." I would rather learn "by example."
-Bruce
keeps us all on our feet though....
Does Paul Weber still help around the German forums years later?
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