Breakdown of Børnene trives fordi de svømmer hver dag.
barnet
the child
de
they
svømme
to swim
fordi
because
hver dag
every day
trives
to thrive
Questions & Answers about Børnene trives fordi de svømmer hver dag.
Why does trives end in an 's'? Is it a passive verb?
No. Even though it ends in -s like a passive verb, it actually has an active meaning: to thrive or to do well. Verbs that look passive but act active are called deponent verbs. You always use trives with this -s ending.
How do we form the present tense for a deponent verb like trives?
Unlike regular verbs that add an -r in the present tense (like how svømme becomes svømmer), deponent verbs ending in -s do not take an -r. The infinitive is at trives (to thrive), and the present tense is exactly the same: trives.
Why doesn't the word order change after fordi?
Fordi (because) starts a subordinate clause. In these clauses, a small adverb like ikke (not) would normally jump in front of the verb. But since this sentence doesn't have an adverb, the word order ends up looking exactly like a normal main clause: subject (de) followed by the verb (svømmer).
I know barn means child, but how exactly is børnene formed here?
Et barn (a child) is an irregular noun. Its plural form completely changes the vowel to become børn (children). To say 'the children', we attach the definite plural suffix -ene to the end, giving us børnene.
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