See 42.3f (p. 115) for verb completion by an infinitive clause with zu; see also 8.7a (p. 13) for
word order.101 Expressing knowledge
101.1 German has two verbs for ‘to know’: wissen (which usually refers to facts) and kennen
(which refers to people and places). There are many derivatives which have
precise meanings in German, but often have no exact equivalents in English (see also
87.1, p. 318).
(a) (er)kennen and wissenjmdn./etw. kennen ‘to know sb./sth.’
jmdn./etw. erkennen ‘to recognize sb./sth.’
-e Erkenntnis ‘finding/insight’
-e Kenntnis ‘knowledge’
-r Kenntnisstand ‘level of knowledge’Er erkannte seinen Bruder nach den vielen Jahren kaum noch.
He hardly recognized his brother after all those years.Sie musste erkennen/musste zu der Erkenntnis kommen, dass sie in
diesem Fall nicht helfen konnte.
She had to realize/understand that she could not help in this case.Und Er erkannte, dass es gut war.
And he saw that it was good. (Bible: Genesis)Die Forschung bringt uns viele Erkenntnisse, die für die Bekämpfung
von schweren Krankheiten nützlich sind.
Research produces many findings which are useful for fighting serious
diseases.Es ist gar keine so neue Erkenntnis, dass der Mensch für seine Umwelt
mitverantwortlich ist.
It is not such a new finding/insight that man shares responsibility for his
environment.Die Kenntnis dieses Buches ist für die Prüfung unbedingt wichtig.
It is essential to know this book for the exam.Sein Kenntnisstand entspricht dem eines Fünfjährigen.
His level of knowledge is equivalent to that of a five-year-old.etw. wissen ‘to know sth.’
von etw. wissen ‘to know of/about sth.’
um etw. wissen ‘to know about sth.’
das Wissen ‘knowledge’
über etw. Bescheid wissen ‘to know about sth.’101
CONVEYING ATTITUDES/MENTAL STATES