Word
Nej, jeg har ikke nogen hund.
Meaning
No, I do not have a dog.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Nej, jeg har ikke nogen hund.
Why does it say ikke nogen hund instead of ikke en hund?
In English, we say 'I do not have a dog.' But in Danish, when you want to say you do not have 'a' single thing of something, it is much more natural to use ikke nogen (literally 'not any'). Saying ikke en hund would sound like you are emphasizing the exact number: 'I don't have ONE dog (I have two).'
Why is it nogen and not noget here?
Nogen (meaning 'any' here) changes depending on the gender of the noun. Because hund is a common gender noun (an en-word, as in en hund), you use nogen. If it were a neuter noun (an et-word like et hus for house), you would use noget instead.
Doesn't nogen usually mean 'someone'?
It can! Standing alone, nogen often means 'someone' or 'anyone'. But when it is placed directly in front of a noun like hund, it translates better to 'any'.
Why isn't there a word for 'do' in this negative sentence?
Danish does not use a helper verb like 'do' to make a sentence negative. Instead of saying 'do not have', you simply take the main verb har (have) and follow it immediately with the negative word ikke (not).