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# ken

«ken» in Mova's school dictionary: **to know: «I dinnae ken» = I don't know** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (ken, uncountable, in «beyond my ken»); verb (Scottish, Northern English: ken, kens, kent or kenned, kenning); also a name (Ken)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (Scotland, Northern England) To ken means to know: «I dinnae ken» = I don't know. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#m1)

2) (formal, old) Your ken is what you know or understand: «Rocket science is beyond my ken». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#m2)

3) Ken is a boy's name, short for Kenneth (a name). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#m3)

4) (Scotland, informal) «Ken» at the end of a sentence means «you know»: «It was brilliant, ken.» [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#m4)

### sense in the lessons

In Scottish stories and poems (like those of Robert Burns) and in Scottish everyday talk, «ken» is very common. In English lessons it shows how dialects keep old words: «ken» is related to «know» and «can». The phrase «beyond my ken» is used in books to say something is outside what a person knows. Phrases: «I dinnae ken», «d'ye ken?», «beyond one's ken».

### examples

- «Dae ye ken where the station is?» asked the old Scottish man. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x1)
- I dinnae ken what you mean. (Scotland) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x2)
- It was a great game, ken? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x3)
- How the universe began is beyond my ken. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x4)
- Ken is my uncle's name. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x5)
- «Aye, I ken him fine,» said Granny, meaning she knew him well. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x6)
- And they were married, and he and she are living happy till this day, for aught I ken.(1) [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/#x7)

### note

Scottish and old/literary; in standard school writing use «know». Past form «kent» (Scotland) or «kenned». Capital K for the name. Trap: «ken» is not short for «can».

### In the corpora

- [A sentence can be very short: Grandad in Edinburgh asks, «Aye, ken that's a sentence?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/26-sentences-capital-letters-full-stops-and-the-four-types/8/)
- ["Stop." Just one word?» (ken means know in Scots).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/26-sentences-capital-letters-full-stops-and-the-four-types/9/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «ken» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/K/ken/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.