Breakdown of Om eftermiddagen arbejder hun på kontoret.
hun
she
arbejde
to work
kontoret
the office
på
on / at / in (a language) / of (after nouns like end or start)
Questions & Answers about Om eftermiddagen arbejder hun på kontoret.
Why does the sentence use om for 'in the'?
In Danish, om is used with definite times of day to mean 'during the' or 'in the' on a regular basis. So om eftermiddagen means 'in the afternoon'.
Why is the word order arbejder hun instead of hun arbejder?
This is because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. In Danish, the verb must be the second piece of information in a sentence. Since the time phrase Om eftermiddagen takes the first spot, the verb arbejder has to come next, swapping places with the subject hun.
Why does eftermiddag have -en at the end?
The -en ending makes the word definite, changing 'afternoon' to 'the afternoon'. In Danish, the word for 'the' attaches to the end of the noun.
Why use på for 'at the' instead of another preposition?
Danish often uses på (which usually means 'on') for places of work or public institutions, such as på kontoret (at the office) or på hospitalet (at the hospital). This is a set phrase you just have to memorize.
How do we know to add -et to the end of kontor?