Kennen: Examples, Sentences and Quiz in German
Introduction
Kennen means “to know”, and it is one of the most useful verbs in German — you will meet it in conversation, in books, in films and in every textbook. This page puts the verb to work: twelve example sentences across the tenses, a short dialogue you can act out, a tour of the verb in its most important tenses, the mistakes learners make most often, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for kennen, so you can trust what you read here. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Example sentences
Twelve sentences with kennen, in different tenses and with different subjects. Read the German first, guess the meaning, then check the English.
- “Ich kenne Marie seit Langem.” — “I know Marie for a long time.”
- “Du kennst Berlin sehr gut.” — “You know Berlin very well.”
- “Ich habe ein gutes Restaurant hier gekannt.” — “I have known a good restaurant here.”
- “Er kannte Marie seit Langem.” — “He knew Marie for a long time.”
- “Wir werden Berlin sehr gut kennen.” — “We will know Berlin very well.”
- “Du hast ein gutes Restaurant hier gekannt.” — “You have known a good restaurant here.”
- “Ich kennte Marie seit Langem.” — “I would know Marie for a long time.”
- “Er kenne Berlin sehr gut.” — “He knows Berlin very well.”
- “Wir hatten ein gutes Restaurant hier gekannt.” — “We had known a good restaurant here.”
- “Er wird Marie seit Langem kennen.” — “He will know Marie for a long time.”
- “Sie kennen Berlin sehr gut.” — “They know Berlin very well.”
- “Kenn ein gutes Restaurant hier!” — “Know a good restaurant here!”
A short dialogue
Lena and Jonas are talking about Marie for a long time. Read the dialogue aloud, one voice per person, and notice how kennen changes with the tense and the subject. Every form of kennen below is taken from the verified tables.
Lena: “Kennst du Marie seit Langem?” — “You know Marie for a long time?” Jonas: “Ich kenne Marie seit Langem.” — “I know Marie for a long time.” Lena: Und morgen? Jonas: “Ich werde Berlin sehr gut kennen.” — “I will know Berlin very well.” Lena: Und gestern? Jonas: “Ich habe ein gutes Restaurant hier gekannt.” — “I have known a good restaurant here.” Lena: Und eines Tages? Jonas: “Ich kennte Marie seit Langem.” — “I would know Marie for a long time.”
Notice how the dialogue moves through time: the present for what is happening now, the future for tomorrow, the Perfekt for yesterday, and Konjunktiv II for what someone would do one day. The verb stays the same — only the tense changes — and that is the whole point of learning a conjugation table: one verb, many moments.
Kennen in different tenses
The same verb does different jobs in different tenses. Here are the six uses of kennen that matter most, each with a sentence you can copy and adapt.
The present: habits and facts
In the present, kennen describes habits, facts and what is happening now. The ich form is kenne: “Ich kenne Marie seit Langem.” — “I know Marie for a long time.”
The preterite: the past as a finished event
In the preterite, kennen describes one finished action in the past, the way a story tells it. The er form is kannte: “Er kannte Berlin sehr gut.” — “He knew Berlin very well.”
The Perfekt: finished actions
In the Perfekt, kennen reports one finished action in everyday speech, built with haben plus the participle gekannt. The ich form is habe gekannt: “Ich habe ein gutes Restaurant hier gekannt.” — “I have known a good restaurant here.”
The future: what will happen
In the future, kennen talks about what will happen. The wir form is werden kennen: “Wir werden Marie seit Langem kennen.” — “We will know Marie for a long time.”
Konjunktiv II: what would happen
In Konjunktiv II, kennen talks about what would happen. Konjunktiv II doubles as the German conditional — there is no separate conditional tense. The du form is kenntest: “Du kenntest Berlin sehr gut.” — “You would know Berlin very well.”
Konjunktiv I: reported speech
In reported speech, kennen appears in Konjunktiv I, reporting what someone else said. The er form is kenne: “Er kenne ein gutes Restaurant hier.” — “He knows a good restaurant here.” Read it as a quotation — someone said this, and the sentence reports it.
Common mistakes
Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich kennen Marie seit Langem.”
✓ Right: “Ich kenne Marie seit Langem.”
The infinitive kennen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated form kenne.
Using the wrong person’s form
✗ Wrong: “Du kenne Marie seit Langem.”
✓ Right: “Du kennst Marie seit Langem.”
kenne is the ich form. With du you need kennst. Check the subject before you choose the form.
Using the present for a finished past action
✗ Wrong: “Ich kenne Marie seit Langem gestern.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe Marie seit Langem gekannt.”
The time word gestern points to the past, so a finished action needs the Perfekt habe gekannt, not the present.
Using the indicative in reported speech
✗ Wrong: “Ich kenne Marie seit Langem.” (quoted as reported speech)
✓ Right: “Ich kenne Marie seit Langem.” (quoted as reported speech)
In reported speech German uses Konjunktiv I: kenne, not the indicative kenne.
Forgetting the auxiliary in the Perfekt
✗ Wrong: “Ich gekannt Marie seit Langem.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe Marie seit Langem gekannt.”
The Perfekt of kennen needs the auxiliary haben plus the participle gekannt: the full ich form is habe gekannt.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on kennen. Choose the right answer, then check the answer key below.
What is the ich form of kennen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) kennst
- B) kennt
- C) kennen
- D) kenne
What is the du form of kennen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) kennen
- B) kennst
- C) kenne
- D) kennt
What is the er/sie/es form of kennen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habe gekannt
- B) hast gekannt
- C) haben gekannt
- D) hat gekannt
What is the wir form of kennen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) kanntet
- B) kannten
- C) kannte
- D) kanntest
What is the du form of kennen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst kennen
- B) werde kennen
- C) wird kennen
- D) werden kennen
What is the ich form of kennen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional)?
- A) kenntest
- B) kennten
- C) kenntet
- D) kennte
What is the er/sie/es form of kennen in the Konjunktiv I?
- A) kennest
- B) kennen
- C) kennet
- D) kenne
What is the ich form of kennen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatten gekannt
- B) hattet gekannt
- C) hatte gekannt
- D) hattest gekannt
What is the past participle of kennen?
- A) gekannt
- B) geliebt
- C) gehasst
- D) gebraucht
What does kennen mean in English?
- A) to hate
- B) to need
- C) to know
- D) to love
Answer key
- D) kenne — the ich form of kennen in the Present (Präsens) is kenne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) kennst — the du form of kennen in the Present (Präsens) is kennst. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) hat gekannt — the er/sie/es form of kennen in the Perfect (Perfekt) is hat gekannt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- B) kannten — the wir form of kennen in the Preterite (Präteritum) is kannten. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) wirst kennen — the du form of kennen in the Future (Futur I) is wirst kennen. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) kennte — the ich form of kennen in the Konjunktiv II (conditional) is kennte. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- D) kenne — the er/sie/es form of kennen in the Konjunktiv I is kenne. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- C) hatte gekannt — the ich form of kennen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt) is hatte gekannt. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
- A) gekannt — the past participle of kennen is gekannt. The other options are the participles of neighbouring verbs.
- C) to know — kennen means “to know” in English. The other options are the meanings of neighbouring verbs.
Frequently asked questions
What does kennen mean in English?
kennen means “to know”. It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is kennen regular or irregular?
kennen is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is kennend and the past participle is gekannt.
How do I practise kennen every day?
Say one sentence with kennen in the present, one in the Perfekt and one in the future every day, using the examples on this page as models — for example, “Ich kenne Marie seit Langem.”, “Ich habe Marie seit Langem gekannt.” and “Ich werde Marie seit Langem kennen.”. Then take the quiz again and check your answers against the key.
Pronunciation
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for kennen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of kennen — every tense of kennen in one place.
- Kennen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and usage rules for one tense.
- Kennen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- Lieben conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Hassen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- Brauchen conjugation — another everyday German verb.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- VerbFlow home — all languages, tools and verb lists.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — practise kennen with the interactive tool.
- Conjugation Practice — practise kennen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Translator — practise kennen with the interactive tool.