Saying how far a claim holds
Danish, especially written Danish, has a set of fixed adverbials that frame a statement: does it hold in principle, in practice, as a rule? Like any other fronted element, they push the verb into second place, before the subject:
| As a general rule, it is free to go to the doctor in Denmark. | Som hovedregel er det gratis at gå til lægen i Danmark. |
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| i praksis | in practice |
| som hovedregel | as a general rule |
| som udgangspunkt | as a starting point; by default |
| rent praktisk | in practical terms |
| hovedsageligt | mainly |
Som hovedregel is the more formal relative of som regel: you meet it in rules, laws and official letters. Som udgangspunkt says what applies unless there is a reason to do otherwise, "by default"; it can also be literal, "as a starting point":
| We are using her idea as a starting point. | Vi bruger hendes ide som udgangspunkt. |
Hidtil, i alt, modsat
hidtil is "until now, so far", a more formal word than indtil nu. i alt is "in total". modsat is "opposite" (den modsatte retning), and before a noun or pronoun it means "unlike": modsat sin søster. It does not mean "on the contrary"; that is tværtimod.
The latter, of which
sidstnævnte, literally "last-named", is "the latter"; "the former" is førstnævnte. hvoraf is "of which, of whom". It adds information about a group just named, so a comma goes before it:
| The class has thirty pupils, of whom twelve are girls. | Klassen har tredive elever, hvoraf tolv er piger. |
