Questions & Answers about Godaften! Vi spiser nu.
Why does the Danish sentence use spiser instead of translating 'are eating'?
Danish doesn't have a separate continuous tense like English does with 'are eating' or 'is running'. You just use the standard present tense verb spiser for both 'eat' and 'are eating'. The word nu (now) helps make it clear that it is happening right at this moment.
Why is Godaften written as a single word?
In Danish, greetings that combine 'good' and a time of day are usually written as one word. This is different from English, where we write 'Good evening' as two words. You will also see this with godmorgen (good morning) and godnat (good night).
Why doesn't the verb spiser come right after Godaften to be the second word?
While Danish has a strict rule that the verb must be the second idea in a sentence, Godaften! is a greeting that stands completely outside the main sentence. The main sentence starts with Vi (the first idea), so the verb spiser correctly comes second.