Word
Jeg var syg i går. — Det var en skam.
Meaning
I was sick yesterday. — That's a shame.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Jeg var syg i går. — Det var en skam.
Why is the word "var" used here instead of "er"?
Var is the past tense of the verb at være (to be). Since the sentence is talking about yesterday (i går), you must use the past tense var (was/were) instead of the present tense er (am/is/are).
How do time expressions like "i går" work?
In Danish, several common time words are formed with the short word i followed by another word. I går is a fixed phrase meaning yesterday. You will also see this pattern in i dag (today) and i morgen (tomorrow).
Why do we use "Det" instead of "Den" in "Det var en skam"?
When you refer back to a whole situation or a complete sentence, you always use the pronoun det (it/that). Here, det refers to the entire fact that the person was sick, rather than to a specific "en" or "et" word.
Is "en skam" used exactly the same way as "a shame" in English?
Yes, the phrase Det var en skam translates perfectly to "That is a shame" or "What a pity." It expresses sympathy for an unfortunate situation, just like the matching phrase does in English.