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Danish

### 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

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### 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.

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### 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**).

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The determinative construction (den der)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite nouns and the copula (-en, -et, er)

Indefinite articles (en, et)

Present tense verbs and word order (-r)

Plural subject pronouns (vi, I, de)

The verb to have (har)

Yes/No questions

Wh-questions (hvad, hvem, hvor)

Main clause negation (ikke)

Regular noun plurals (-er, -r)

Short noun plurals (-e)

Definite plurals (-ne)

Neuter adjective agreement (-t)

Plural adjective agreement (-e)

Adjectives with indefinite nouns

Adjectives with definite nouns (den / det / de ... -e)

Numbers 1 to 10

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Expressing age (er ... år)

Genitive possession (-s)

Singular possessives (min, din)

Third-person possessives (hans, hendes)

Plural possessives (vores, jeres, deres)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sit, sine)

Singular object pronouns (mig, dig)

Plural object pronouns (os, jer, dem)

The infinitive marker (at)

The modal verb can (kan)

The modal verb want to (vil)

The modal verb must (skal)

Negating modal verbs

Inversion after adverbs

Prepositions of position (i, på)

Prepositions of direction (til, fra)

Days of the week (mandag, tirsdag...)

Months of the year (januar, februar...)

Telling time (hel, halv, kvart)

Coordinating conjunctions (og, men, eller)

Subordinating conjunctions (at, fordi)

Subordinate clause negation

Commands (køb, vent, spis)

Zero-ending neuter plurals

The Human Body: Head and Face

The Human Body: Limbs and Torso

Personal Hygiene

Digital Life

Tools and Hardware

Emergency and Safety

Common Materials

Money and Payments

Short answers (Ja, det gør jeg)

Greetings (hej, godmorgen, farvel)

Thanks and apologies (tak, undskyld)

Jobs and nationalities (Hun er lærer)

Likes and dislikes (kan godt lide)

Somebody and something (nogen, noget, ingen)

How much? (meget, lidt, mere, nok)

With, by, over and under (med, ved, over, under)

Ordinals and dates (den første april)

Wishes for every occasion (tillykke, god bedring)

Times of day (om morgenen, om aftenen)

My day (stå op, gå i seng)

Past tense I: -ede and -te (i går)

My new hat (min nye hat, små, gamle)

Past tense II: irregular verbs (var, havde, gik)

Reacting in a conversation (nå, det lyder godt)

The family and irregular plurals (mænd, børn, fødder)

In the shop (Hvad koster det?)

Demonstratives: that and those (den, det, de)

Demonstratives: this and these (denne, dette, disse)

Adverbs of manner (-t)

Comparing things (-ere, end)

Superlative adjectives (-est)

Definite superlative adjectives (-este)

Irregular adjective comparison

Comparing long adjectives (mere, mest)

The reflexive pronoun (sig)

Reflexive verbs

Reciprocal verbs (-s)

Deponent verbs (-s)

Past opinions (syntes)

Present perfect tense with regular verbs (har... -et/-t)

Present perfect tense with irregular verbs (har...)

Present perfect tense with movement (er...)

Past perfect tense (havde / var...)

Question	Answer
the shop assistant	ekspedienten
The shop assistant is the one who helps us.	Ekspedienten er den der hjælper os.
the selection	udvalget
Did you see the large selection in the store?	Så du det store udvalg i butikken?
The selection is too small in this store.	Udvalget er for lille i denne butik.
The selection is large, but I am taking the one that is blue.	Udvalget er stort, men jeg tager det der er blåt.
the skirt	nederdelen
Why did she not buy the skirt?	Hvorfor købte hun ikke nederdelen?
striped	stribet
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.
solid-colored	ensfarvet
Is the sweater striped or solid-colored?	Er trøjen stribet eller ensfarvet?
I do not like the ones that are striped.	Jeg kan ikke lide dem der er stribede.
The man wore a solid-colored shirt.	Manden havde en ensfarvet skjorte på.
I would like the one that is solid-colored.	Jeg vil gerne have den der er ensfarvet.
checkered	ternet
I am looking for a checkered jacket.	Jeg leder efter en ternet jakke.
The boy points at the one that is checkered.	Drengen peger på den som er ternet.
the jeans	jeansene
The jeans are too long for me.	Jeansene er for lange til mig.
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 button	knappen
There is a big button on the bag.	Der er en stor knap på tasken.
Are you sewing the button on the one that is blue?	Syr du knappen i den som er blå?
the wool	ulden
It is too hot with the wool in the summer.	Det er for varmt med ulden om sommeren.
Is there wool in the one lying on the table?	Er der uld i den der ligger på bordet?
the cotton	bomulden
I like the cotton because it is soft.	Jeg kan godt lide bomulden fordi den er blød.
The girl chooses the one made of cotton.	Pigen vælger den som er af bomuld.
I show the shop assistant the one that is striped.	Jeg viser ekspedienten den der er stribet.
the underwear	undertøjet
The underwear is in the drawer.	Undertøjet ligger i skuffen.
I need to buy new underwear.	Jeg skal købe nyt undertøj.
the blouse	blusen
The striped blouse is very nice.	Den stribede bluse er meget pæn.
She is trying on a white blouse.	Hun prøver en hvid bluse.
the underpants	underbukserne
The underpants are too small.	Underbukserne er for små.
He is buying new underpants.	Han køber nye underbukser.
the wallet (billfold)	tegnebogen
Where is my wallet?	Hvor er min tegnebog?
The wallet is in the jacket.	Tegnebogen ligger i jakken.

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