Archive for 'Grammar'
Liking Things Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Mar 8, 2012
Having touched the slimy subject of swearing, it’s now time for us to return to some of the more ”tasteful” aspects of learning Danish. 😉 The poet Halfdan Rasmussen, who has been mentioned earlier, once wrote a children’s poem about liking things, as seen from a child’s perspective. Fittingly enough, it concludes with the line…
Getting the Jigsaw Right Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Feb 11, 2012
This is by no means our first trip into the jungle of Danish nouns, articles and adjectives, and I can’t guarantee it will be the last! 😉 The rules are simple, and no one bites you if you make a mistake. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take the time to get your Danish grammar…
EN or ET: The Peculiar Sex Life of Danish Nouns Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Dec 8, 2011
Danish nouns have genders. If English is your only language, that claim may seem just a wee bit absurd: Do Danish vocabulary items come with sex organs, or what?! In case you’ve got some basic acquaintance with French, Spanish, German or perhaps Latin, you certainly know that grammatical gender and biological gender are two…
There Be Adjectives! Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 30, 2011
We’ve already seen how to pluralize nouns (by adding an -er, -e, -s or no ending at all, remember?) Furthermore, we’ve taken a sneak peek at the article system. Basically, that one boils down to adding en or et to any singular noun – as a lead word in front if it is to mean ’a’ or…
Articles Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 24, 2011
You already know how to make plurals of Danish nouns. Now the time has come to say hello to the Danish articles, they’re already tripping outside in the raw November weather, anxious to be let in… What’s an article? Besides the stuff journalists write, it’s a way for some languages to mark whether a noun…
Verbs With Muscles: Learning Danish Through English Part III Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Nov 3, 2011
As we’ve seen, Danish and English share en god del (a good deal) of common vocabulary. This should make it easy for English-speakers to find a footing in the language. The flip side is, of course, that the gates are opened for false friends and stuff. Now let’s look at another joint venture: verbs. Verbs are…
Asking Questions We Like, Yes? Posted by Bjørn A. Bojesen on Oct 24, 2011
A Danish newspaper recently claimed Danish university students were too shy to ask questions at lectures. Too bad for them – asking a lot of questions helps you keeping an open mind. And with your eyes and ears wide open you’ll quickly assimilate a lot of words and succeed in your mission to learn the…