Breakdown of I dag vil vi gerne bygge en seng, derfor bruger vi saven.
en
a / an (common)
vi
we
sengen
the bed
bruge
to use / to spend (money, time) / to need (together with the modal of obligation)
Questions & Answers about I dag vil vi gerne bygge en seng, derfor bruger vi saven.
Why does the sentence say vil vi and bruger vi instead of vi vil and vi bruger?
This happens because of the "V2 rule" in Danish, which means the verb must be the second idea in a sentence. Because the sentence starts with the time phrase I dag (today), the verb vil has to come next, before the subject vi. The exact same thing happens in the second part: derfor (therefore) takes the first spot, so the verb bruger must come before vi.
Does vil mean "will" like in the English future tense?
No, vil is a tricky false friend! In Danish, vil usually means "want to". When combined with the word gerne (which literally means "gladly"), the phrase vil gerne translates to "would like to" or is just a friendly, natural way of saying "want to".
Why is the verb bygge used instead of the present tense bygger?
bygge is in the infinitive (the basic dictionary form), which usually ends in an -e. You must use this basic form because it comes after the verb vil (want to). Just like in English where you say "want to build" (not "want to builds"), Danish drops the present tense -r on the second verb.
How does saven mean "the saw"?