"We do not have a dog."

Translation: Wir haben keinen Hund.

[jdgayles16]

why not wir haben kein hund

[Quinn254356]

This is in the accusative tense. Hund is preceded by der/ein normally, meaning in the accusative it's preceded by den/einen, and therefore keinen

[ViJiLKK]

Just like when we would say "We have a dog" as "Wir haben einen Hund" and not "Wir haben ein Hund".
The masculine articles “der”, “ein” and "kein" change when used in the accusative. “Der” turns into “den” , “ein” into “einen” and "kein" changes to "keinen" . Feminine articles (“die”, “eine” and "keine") and neuter articles (“das” “ein” and "kein" ) don't change.
And since Hund (dog) is masculine and is used in an accusative sentence, "kein" will change to "keinen".

[am_tayel]

Das ist kein hund .. this is right
but : wir haben kinen hund, according to the verb meaning, if its akkusative, so keinen not kein

[GloriaGudalupe]

All these mean ONE in different genders: masc. neut. fem.

(for the NEGATIVE just add a K at the begining)
Here are all the cases....

<pre> DER DAS DIE </pre>

Nominativ ein ein eine

Akkusativ einen ein eine

Dativ einem einem einer

Genitiv eines eines einer

They do not have plurals!!!!! This is all what you need to know!

[Anthraxious]

I'm just curious why there's a 'keinen Hund' here when a few sentences before which was 'That is not a star' translates to Das ist kein Stern'.

Star is also masculine (der Stern) so why isn't there a keinen in that sentence?

[Tahrion]

The declination of "kein, keine, keinen" does not only depend on the gender of the object but also refers to the case. In your example the case of the objects are different. It is "Wir haben KEINEN Hund" because the verb "haben" requires an object in the accusative case and "Das ist KEIN Stern" because "ist" (inf. sein) requires the nominative case.

[AlexandruR204012]

Jeez... Do native speakers know this or they just wing it? :))

[OakDoc1]

Is it wrong to say, "wir haben nicht einen Hund"? I realize it's not preferable, but why is it wrong?

[Tahrion]

Funny this sentences theoretically exists in German but it's rarely used in spoken German and not at all in written form - so better don't use it.
The connotation is completely different and bit sarcastic "Wir haben nicht einen Hund" is overtly emphasizing the fact that you do not have a dog (i do not own a dog, not even one).

[Jay_the_Bae]

Can I also say "Wir haben einen Hund nicht"?

[quis_lib_duo]

No, that doesn't work.

[RedAngel666]

Hi Jay,

perhaps this little rule can help:

The negation of a nomen with a definite article (der, die, das) is "nicht"

The negation of a nomen with a indefinite article (ein, eine) is "kein, (keiner, keine")

so

Habt ihr einen Hund? Nein, wir haben keinen Hund.

I hope that helps

best regards Angel

[RossLarcom]

Is nomen another word for noun?

[einSitzpinkler]

No, because whenever there's an article you have to negate it

[JoaoGSRocha]

Where is the masculine accusative or the dative plural on this sentence, so we have to use keinen?
I don't seem to get it.

[RedAngel666]

Hi Joao,
"Hund" is the object. The accusative you ask with "Wen habt ihr?" "einen Hund".

"Hund" has an indefinite article and for that you use "keinen".

regards Angel

[GaurangKak]

What is the difference between kine and keinen

[e_fein]

'Keine' and 'keinen' are the negative of 'eine' and 'einen'. Read the following article on 'Ein/Eine/Einen', and hopefully it will explain.
https://www.duolingo.com/comment/871465/Ein-Eine-Ein
For a negative statement, simply change 'ein' to 'kein', 'eine' to 'keine' and 'einen' to 'keinen'. Hope it helps!

[red2121]

Jetzt verstehe ich. Vielen Dank

[ColetteEagleman]

I clicked the link and sever 404 no loner available ugh but thanks for explantions

[GloriaGudalupe]

Now it is working!

[ses809338]

Wir haben einen hund.

[RitaKeller1]

I thought the ending en "keinen" related to plural nouns. How do I know when to use keinen instead of Keine?

[fehrerdef]

"kein" is declined just like adjectives. Since "Hund" is masculine singular (only one dog) and you need an accusative, it is "keinen". "keine" would be nominative and accusative singular feminine as well as nominative and accusative plural..

[Shobhit592550]

How to know when a sentence is in accusative tense?

[fehrerdef]

"accusative" is not a tense, it is a case. Sentences don't have cases, nouns have them. The case determines hich position the noun phrase takes in a sentence. "accusative" marks the direct object. And that's what "a dog" is here, so "a dog" must be in accusative case, which is "einen Hund".

[ladyraejenx]

Jayson, When you put "nicht" at the end of the sentence, it sounds like you are saying, "We have a dog, right?" Instead of "We don't have a dog."