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Using the verb kennenlernen

The verb kennenlernen ("to get to know," "to make the acquaintance of," "to meet") is without a doubt an important one, but it's a bit tricky. For our beginners and anyone who needs a review, let's look at various conjugations of this separable verb as we look at some sentences from Yabla German

 

First of all, here it is again in the infinitive. Note that kennenlernen is one word:

 

Der Vermieter möchte uns kennenlernen.

The landlord would like to meet us.

Caption 42, Mein Weg nach DeutschlandL Auf Wohnungssuche

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In this next example, kennenlernen is used in the present tense, and more specifically in the third person singular. You'll note that lernen gets conjugated, whereas kennen remains in the infinitive but moves to the end of the sentence:

 

Man lernt mehr Leute kennen.

One gets to know more people.

Caption 37, Anna Am Strand: in Mexiko

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The same thing, which is normal for separable verbs, happens in the simple past tense:

 

Und so lernte die Prinzessin ihren Ehemann kennen.

And this is how the Princess met her husband.

Caption 35, Märchen - Sagenhaft: König Drosselbart

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In the following phrases, which you will most certainly need to know, kennenlernen is integrated into a subordinate clause with zu:

 

Schön, dich kennenzulernen. -Schön, dich kennenzulernen.

Nice to meet you. -Nice to meet you.

Caption 10, Paula & Heide: aus Berlin

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Freut mich, dich kennenzulernen. -Hallo.

Pleased to meet you. -Hello.

Caption 16, Nicos Weg: Feste und Feiertage

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Nun, ich freue mich, Sie dann kennenzulernen.

So, I am looking forward to meeting you then.

Caption 49, Berufsleben: das Vorstellungsgespräch

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In the present perfect, which is often used to talk about the past in German, we see the participle of the verb: 

 

Ich habe diesen netten Kerl kennengelernt.

I met this nice guy.

Caption 35, Die Wohngemeinschaft: Die Verabredung

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And this example also refers to what has already happened: 

 

Aber ich find's nett, Sie kennengelernt zu haben.

But I think it's nice to have met you.

Caption 36, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang

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Further Learning
There's no shortage of examples on Yabla German, so have a look and practice telling people it was nice to meet them, or talking about when you first met various people you know. 

Accepting, confirming, declining, and rejecting

In German, there are many ways to accept or reject an offer or a situation, or talk about doing so. First, there is die Zusage and die Absage, and the verb forms zusagen and absagen. The noun die Zusage is essentially a positive answer, a confirmation (another noun is die Bestätigung), or can even refer to an acceptance letter. You may remember that absagen often means "to cancel" rather than "to reject" or "to decline." Have a look at the Yabla examples below:

 

Ich muss den Leuten, mit denen ich gesprochen habe, noch heute eine Zusage geben, sonst ist das Angebot weg.

I have to give the people I've spoken with a positive answer today or the offer is gone.

Captions 27-28, Nicos Weg: Ein Praktikum beim Film

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Aber ich kann Ihnen heute noch nicht zusagen.

But I can't give you a confirmation today.

Caption 34, Die Pfefferkörner: Alles auf Anfang

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Es ist bestimmt eine Zusage.

It's probably an acceptance letter.

Caption 20, Nicos Weg: Das hört sich gut an!

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... die radikale Absage an Putin, an die Gasimporte.

... the radical rejection of Putin, of the gas imports.

Caption 3, Umweltbewusstes Wohnen: Zu Besuch in einem Wiener Passivhaus

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Am liebsten würd ich ihn absagen.

I'd actually prefer to cancel it.

Caption 10, Nicos Weg: Freizeitstress

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Ich will wissen, warum du unser Treffen abgesagt hast.

I want to know why you canceled our meeting.

Caption 15, Nicos Weg: Der Umzug

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Among the other verbs that can be used in the context of accepting something are annehmen and hinnehmen. The verb akzeptieren can be used in the sense of "to come to terms with something" in German, and hinnehmen may have a negative connotation as well.

 

Die Partner sollten dieses Angebot annehmen und die Chance nutzen...

The partners should accept this offer and use the opportunity...

Caption 63, Angela Merkel: Gemeinsame Pressekonferenz mit Barack Obama

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Wir würden einen kleinen Verlust hinnehmen.

We would accept a small loss.

Caption 43, Berufsleben: Probleme mit Mitarbeitern

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Und das ist schwierig zu akzeptieren, dass andre auch vom Grundgesetz profitieren.

And it's difficult to accept that others also benefit from the constitution.

Caption 4, Böhmermann: Wie geht man als Satiriker mit Rechtspopulismus um?

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There are then the verbs ablehnen, zurückweisen, and verweigern for expressing rejection or refusal, or declining an offer.

 

Früher bedeutete dies, dass man einen Heiratsantrag abgelehnt hat.

It used to mean that you rejected a marriage proposal.

Caption 18, Eva erklärt: Sprichwörter

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Darf die Müllabfuhr wegen falscher Mülltrennung den Abtransport verweigern?

Is the garbage collection service allowed to refuse transport due to incorrect trash separation?

Caption 75, Richter Alexander Hold Wer hat recht bei falscher Mülltrennung?

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Further Learning
You will find many examples of these words in use on Yabla German, so do a quick search to get a better understanding of how they are implemented in sentences. Most of the verbs mentioned above have a related noun (like die Hinnahme and die Ablehnung), so you can also look these up and memorize their articles.