Choosing net or keen

Level 1

Ask what the positive sentence has before the noun. En, eng or nothing? Use keen or keng. The, a possessive or a name? Use net.

How It Works

Keen or keng replaces the article en or eng, or stands where there is no article:

  • Masculine and neuter: keen, written kee before most consonants: keen Auto, kee Vëlo, kee Kand
  • Feminine and all plurals: keng: keng Zäit, keng Kanner

Examples: Ech hunn eng Schwëster → Ech hu keng Schwëster. Mir hunn Zäit → Mir hu keng Zäit. Hien ass Dokter → Hien ass keen Dokter.

Net negates everything else:

  • Nouns with the: Ech hunn den Auto net.
  • Nouns with a possessive: Dat ass net mäi Buch.
  • Names and pronouns: Ech kennen de Paul net.
  • Verbs and adjectives: Ech schaffen net. Dat ass net gutt. See net.

Both are possible with activities. With languages and sports you will hear both Ech schwätze kee Lëtzebuergesch and Ech schwätzen net Lëtzebuergesch (I do not speak Luxembourgish). Keen is the usual choice.

Keen also means no one when it stands alone: Keen huet ugeruff (jiddereen and keen).

Examples (6)

  1. Ech hu keen Auto.

    I do not have a car.

    Word by Word: I have no car.

    The positive sentence is Ech hunn en Auto, so en becomes keen.

  2. Mir hu keng Zäit.

    We do not have any time.

    Word by Word: We have no time.

    Zäit is feminine and has no article here, so it takes keng.

  3. Ech drénke kee Kaffi.

    I do not drink coffee.

    Word by Word: I drink no coffee.

    Keen becomes kee before the consonant k, by the n-rule.

  4. Ech hunn den Auto net.

    I do not have the car.

    Word by Word: I have the car not.

    Den Auto has the definite article, so it takes net.

  5. Dat ass net mäi Buch.

    That is not my book.

    Word by Word: That is not my book.

    A noun with a possessive is negated with net.

  6. Hien ass keen Dokter.

    He is not a doctor.

    Word by Word: He is no doctor.

    The positive sentence Hien ass Dokter has no article, so it takes keen.

Common Mistakes

  • Negating a noun with en or eng by adding net.

    Ech hunn net en Auto.
    Ech hu keen Auto.

    Net en does not work. Keen replaces the article en.

  • Using keen with a plural noun.

    Mir hu kee Kanner.
    Mir hu keng Kanner.

    All plural nouns take keng.

  • Using keng with a masculine noun.

    Ech hu keng Auto.
    Ech hu keen Auto.

    Auto is masculine, so it takes keen.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Choosing net or keenLevel 1

Learn This First

Before Choosing Net or Keen, learn Negation With Net and Negative Article: Keen and Keng.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

netkeenkeng