Word
Kan du lide den tallerken?
Meaning
Do you like that plate?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Kan du lide den tallerken?
du
you
kunne lide
to like
den
that (demonstrative, common gender)
tallerkenen
the plate
Questions & Answers about Kan du lide den tallerken?
Why does den mean "that" here instead of "it"?
When den comes directly before a noun like tallerken, it acts as a pointing word (a demonstrative) meaning "that". If it stood alone, like in Jeg kan lide den, it would just mean "I like it".
Why do we use den and not det for "that" in this sentence?
We use den because tallerken is a common gender word (an en-word, en tallerken). If you were pointing at a neuter word (an et-word) like an apple (et æble), you would use det æble to mean "that apple".
Wait, doesn't den mean "the"? Why isn't this "Do you like the plate?"
In Danish, to say "the plate", you attach an ending to the noun itself to get tallerkenen. When you place den directly in front of a standalone noun, it emphasizes pointing at it, which changes the meaning to "that plate".
Why is it kan du lide instead of just a single verb for "like"?
In Danish, liking something is expressed with the fixed phrase at kunne lide (literally "to be able to like"). Because we conjugate the first verb into kan (can), the second verb lide stays in its basic dictionary form.