Archive for 'Grammar'
Joys of Danish Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Feb 28, 2022
Since you read this blog last month, a horrible krig [kreey] (war) has broken out in the midst of Europa. Let’s all hope and wish it will end as soon and as peacefully as humanly possible. Verden har brug for fred. (The world needs peace.) And we need to be able to communicate respectfully and…
Commas-in-chief Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jan 31, 2022
Kommaer er underlige. (Commas are strange.) Man skriver dem, men man kan ikke høre dem. (You write them, but you can’t hear them.) Well, sometimes you do hear them, as little pause/r (breaks) when people talk. In Denmark, people have been discussing the correct use of commas for ages, and most people are fed up…
Adding Endings Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Oct 19, 2021
One of the funny things about Danish is that you can’t avoid adding endings to words. Well, of course English learners also sometimes get confused – how do you add a plural -s to box? But generally, as long as you know how to add an -s to words, you don’t have to worry about…
It’s a Numbers Game Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 28, 2021
How often do you need to do number tricks in a foreign language? Det står nok ikke øverst på listen (it probably isn’t on top of the list), but still, if you’re a little bit like me, you’ll sometimes find yourself in situations where simply counting is not enough… In Danish, saying basic calculations out…
Danish endings and beginnings Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Jul 31, 2021
After some culture-related posts it’s time to take another look at det danske sprog (the Danish language). ”All Danish words seem to end in -er!” my sister once ex-claimed. And true enough, really many Danish words end in -er: • verbs in the present tense: køber, maler, smiler (buys, paints, smiles) • plurals of around…
Two Ways of Giving Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 17, 2020
Julen er gavernes tid. (Christmas is the time of gifts.) While many of us are still pondering to whom to give what, let’s look at the Danish grammar of giving. The Danish verb at give [at gheew’] is historically related to the English to give. Fortunately, it works in similar ways. Jeg ved ikke hvem…
If We Talk Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Aug 31, 2020
If you ever tried coding, you may have come across ”if-then-else” (if X happens then Y should happen, else Z should happen). If you haven’t, no worries – you can probably get along for a long while without any if-clauses… But if I were you, I’d still take a look at the little word in…