Breakdown of I dag er det den første april.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
den
the (common, before adjective)
i dag
today
april
April
første
first
Questions & Answers about I dag er det den første april.
Why is the word order er det and not det er?
This happens because of the Danish verb second rule. The time phrase I dag (today) takes up the first spot in the sentence. The verb er (is) must come in the second spot, so it swaps places with the subject det (it).
Why isn't the month april capitalized?
Unlike English, Danish does not capitalize the names of months, days of the week, or seasons. They are always written in lowercase letters.
Why is there no Danish word for 'of' before april?
When giving a date in English, we often say 'the first of April'. Danish keeps it simpler! You don't use a connecting word here; you just place the ordinal number directly next to the month.
Why do we need the word den before første?
den means 'the'. When talking about dates, Danish uses den plus the ordinal number (like første for 'first') to mean 'the first', very similar to how we say it in English.
Is I dag always written as two separate words?
Yes! While English writes 'today' as one word, Danish always splits it into two: i and dag (literally 'in day'). Note that I is only capitalized here because it is at the very beginning of the sentence.
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