Breakdown of Han barberede sig i morges.
han
he
i morges
this morning (in the past)
sig
oneself / himself / herself / themselves
barbere
to shave
Questions & Answers about Han barberede sig i morges.
Why is sig in this sentence when the English translation is just 'He shaved'?
In Danish, many personal grooming actions require a reflexive pronoun to show you are doing the action to yourself. While English just says 'He shaved', Danish requires sig (himself). Without sig, the sentence feels incomplete, as if he shaved someone else but you forgot to mention who!
Is barberede a regular verb?
Yes! The dictionary form is at barbere (to shave). To make it past tense because he did it earlier today, Danish adds the common past tense ending -ede to the verb stem, making it barberede.
Why use i morges instead of translating 'this morning' word-for-word?
i morges is the standard, fixed expression in Danish for 'this morning' when referring to a morning that has already passed today. Native speakers rarely use a literal translation like denne morgen.
Why does morges end with an 's'? Is it plural?
No, it is not plural. The 's' at the end of morges is a leftover from old Danish grammar. You will see this old 's' ending in a few other past-tense time expressions too, like i aftes (last night). Just memorize i morges as a set phrase.