Breakdown of Drikker de kaffen? — Nej, det gør de ikke.
det
it (neuter)
drikke
to drink
de
they
kaffen
the coffee
nej
no
ikke
not
gøre
to do / to make (cause to be)
Questions & Answers about Drikker de kaffen? — Nej, det gør de ikke.
Why does the first sentence start with drikker instead of de?
In Danish, you create a yes/no question by putting the verb first. By swapping the subject (de) and the verb (drikker), the statement "they are drinking" becomes the question "are they drinking?".
Where is the word for "the" in kaffen?
In Danish, "the" is usually attached to the end of the noun rather than being a separate word in front. Kaffe means "coffee", and adding the suffix -n (because the word already ends in an 'e') makes it kaffen, which means "the coffee".
Why does the answer say gør (do) when the question asks about drikker (drinking)?
When giving a short answer in Danish, you usually do not repeat the main verb. Instead, you use the verb gør (do) to replace it. It is very similar to how English speakers say "No, they don't" instead of repeating the whole action.
What does the word det refer to in the answer?
Det translates to "it" or "that". In short answers like this, det stands in for the entire action mentioned in the question (drinking the coffee). The phrase det gør de ikke literally means "that do they not".
Why is the word order det gør de ikke instead of de gør ikke det?
Danish has a strict "verb-second" rule. Because the answer puts det at the very front for emphasis, the verb gør must come immediately next so it stays in the second position. The subject de is forced to move after the verb.
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