Breakdown of Hvis du ikke kender koden, kan du ikke åbne appen.
du
you
ikke
not
kende
to know
kunne
to be able to / can
åbne
to open
hvis
if
koden
the code (a PIN, a password)
appen
the app
Questions & Answers about Hvis du ikke kender koden, kan du ikke åbne appen.
Why does ikke come before the verb kender in the first part of the sentence?
The sentence starts with hvis (if), which introduces a dependent part of the sentence (a subordinate clause). In Danish subordinate clauses, small adverbs like ikke (not) move to before the verb. In a standalone sentence, you would say du kender ikke (you do not know), but here it becomes hvis du ikke kender.
Why does the second half say kan du instead of du kan?
This is due to the Danish verb-second (V2) rule. The entire first half of the sentence (Hvis du ikke kender koden) acts as the first piece of information. Because the verb must always come second in a main sentence, the verb kan is placed right after the comma, forcing the subject du to come after it.
Why use kender for "know" here instead of ved?
Danish has two different words for "to know". You use ved when you know a fact or a full thought (like "I know what the code is"). You use kender when you are familiar with a specific noun, such as a person, place, or thing. Because you are knowing a noun object (koden), you must use kender.
How do we know it says "the password" and "the app" rather than just "a password" and "an app"?
In Danish, "the" is attached to the end of a word rather than standing alone before it. En kode means "a password", and adding -n makes it koden (the password). The exact same rule applies to the English loanword en app, which gets the -en ending to become appen (the app).
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