The Determinative Construction
When you want to say "the one that" or "the ones who", Danish uses a specific pairing: a pronoun (den, det, or dem) followed by a relative word (der or som).
Choose the pronoun based on the gender and number of the noun you are replacing or referring to:
- den: for en-words (common gender) and people
- det: for et-words (neuter gender)
- dem: for plural nouns
| The shop assistant is the one who helps us. | Ekspedienten er den der hjælper os. |
| The selection is large, but I am taking the one that is blue. | Udvalget er stort, men jeg tager det der er blåt. |
Pointing Out Clothes and Patterns
This construction is incredibly useful when shopping and comparing items, often paired with adjectives for patterns like stribet (striped), ensfarvet (solid-colored), or ternet (checkered).
Notice how we use den der for a singular en-word like a skirt (en nederdel), but switch to dem der for plural items.
| The woman looks at the skirt, but she chooses the one that is striped. | Kvinden kigger på nederdelen, men hun vælger den der er stribet. |
| I do not like the ones that are striped. | Jeg kan ikke lide dem der er stribede. |
Using 'som' Instead of 'der'
So far, we have used der to mean "that" or "who". You can also use som. When acting as the subject of a clause, der and som are interchangeable.
Let's see som in action, along with a few more shopping words like plural clothing items (jeansene) and materials like cotton (bomulden).
| The boy points at the one that is checkered. | Drengen peger på den som er ternet. |
| I like these jeans, but I prefer the ones that are black. | Jeg kan godt lide disse jeans, men jeg foretrækker dem der er sorte. |
| The girl chooses the one made of cotton. | Pigen vælger den som er af bomuld. |
