Wissen ist Macht! Wissen, kennen, können | German | Quizalize & Oak National Academy

Starter quiz

Match the German vocabulary below to the correct English meanings.

fantastisch

⇔

fantastic ✓

schrecklich

⇔

terrible ✓

nützlich

⇔

useful ✓

österreichisch

⇔

Austrian ✓

arm

⇔

poor ✓

englisch

⇔

English ✓
The verb 'kennen' (to know) is a weak (regular) verb. How would you say 'she knows'?

er kennt

sie kennen

sie kennt ✓

ihr kennt
Match the German words below to their English equivalents.

eine Deutsche

⇔

a German (female) ✓

ein Schweizer

⇔

a Swiss person (male) ✓

Deutsch

⇔

German (the language) ✓

die Deutschen

⇔

the Germans ✓

die Schweiz

⇔

Switzerland ✓
Which sentences below need 'kein' to negate them?

Ich lerne eine neue Sprache. ✓

Diese Sprache ist einfach.

Ich will Polen besuchen.

Es gibt eine Kundin in meinem Geschäft. ✓
Match the forms of the verb 'können' to the correct English meanings.

ich kann

⇔

I can, am able to ✓

du kannst

⇔

you (singular) can, are able to ✓

er kann

⇔

he can, is able to ✓

wir können

⇔

we can, are able to ✓

ihr könnt

⇔

you (plural, informal) can, are able to ✓

Sie/sie können

⇔

you/they can, are able to ✓
Put the forms of 'können' in the correct order to complete the following sentence: 'Ich __________ Deutsch sprechen, wir __________ Englisch sprechen aber aber ihr __________ auch Polnisch sprechen!'

1

⇔

kann

2

⇔

können

3

⇔

könnt

Exit quiz

Match the verbs below to the correct explanation of their uses.

wissen

⇔

to know facts ✓

kennen

⇔

to know a person, to be familiar with something ✓

können

⇔

to be able to, to know how to do something ✓
[-ss-] and [-ß-] sound the __________. Use [-ss-] after __________vowels and [-ß-] after __________ vowels. An [-s] at the __________ of a word sounds like [-s].

1

⇔

same

2

⇔

short

3

⇔

long

4

⇔

end
Which of these words require [-ß-]?

intere__ant (interesting)

Fu__ball (football) ✓

Grü__e (greetings) ✓

Kla__e (class)

beschlie__en (to decide) ✓
When does [-s] sound the same as -[-ss-] and [-ß-]?

at the end of words ✓

in the middle of words

anywhere where the [s] is used

at the beginning of words
Capital letters in German have several important functions. Match the examples to the correct explanations.

Ich weiß, dass du Geschichte lernst.

⇔

Use capital letters to start sentences. ✓

Wissen ist Macht.

⇔

Capital letters can turn verbs into nouns. ✓

Du lernst Deutsch, und ich Spanisch.

⇔

Capital letters can turn adjectives into nouns to represent languages. ✓

Sie ist Deutsche, ich bin Schweizerin.

⇔

Capital letters can create adjectival nouns to describe nationality. ✓
Put the words below in the correct order to complete this sentence: 'Er __________ London, aber er __________, dass die Stadt zu teuer ist! Er __________ Deutsch, also wohnt er lieber in Bremen.'

1

⇔

kennt

2

⇔

weiß

3

⇔

kann

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Lesson Details

Key learning points

The SSCs [-ss-] and [-ß-] sound the same.
'Wissen' means to know with facts.
'Kennen' means to know someone or be familiar with something.
'Können' means to be able to, to know how to do something.

Common misconception

[ß] is a capital B and sounds like [b].

[ß] sounds the same as [ss]. [ß] is used after long vowels, [ss] after short vowels. In words with 's' as the final sound, the spelling [-s] or [ß] needs to be learnt; for example, 'Glas' or 'Spaß'.

Keywords

[-ss-] - pronounced as in 'lassen'
[-ß-] - pronounced as in 'Spaß'
Wissen - to know with facts
Können - to be able to, to know how to do something.