Prepositions at the End of Relative Clauses
In English, we often put a preposition at the end of a relative clause, such as "the organization that he is a volunteer in." In Danish, it is equally common and completely natural to do this. You simply start the clause with the relative pronoun som and place the preposition at the very end of that clause.
| The volunteer whom she lives with is a doctor. | Den frivillige som hun bor hos, er læge. |
| It is the organization that he is a volunteer in. | Det er organisationen som han er frivillig i. |
Fighting for a Cause
When talking about charity (velgørenheden) or a fundraiser (indsamlingen), you will often use verbs paired with specific prepositions, such as kæmpe for (to fight for) or bidrage til (to contribute to). Notice how smoothly the sentence flows when the preposition lands at the end of the relative clause.
| The money that we fight for goes to the charity. | Pengene som vi kæmper for, går til velgørenheden. |
| The fundraiser that they contribute to is too small. | Indsamlingen som de bidrager til, er for lille. |
Foundations and Enthusiasts
You will use this exact same structure when discussing a foundation (fonden) you work for, or an enthusiast (ildsjælen) you are talking with.
A fun cultural note: ildsjæl literally translates to "fire soul" and is an extremely common Danish word used to describe a deeply passionate volunteer or the driving force behind a community cause!
| The foundation that he works for is very famous. | Fonden som han arbejder for, er meget berømt. |
| The enthusiast whom I talked with was very tired. | Ildsjælen som jeg talte med, var meget træt. |
