Breakdown of Vi syntes at kampen var mærkelig.
være
to be
vi
we
at
that
synes
to think
kampen
the match
mærkelig
strange
Questions & Answers about Vi syntes at kampen var mærkelig.
Why do we use syntes here instead of tænkte to say "thought"?
In Danish, there are different words for "think". You use syntes (the past tense of synes) when expressing a subjective opinion or an assessment about something. If you were talking about the physical act of using your brain to ponder or reflect, you would use tænkte. Because the speakers are stating their opinion about the match, syntes is the correct choice.
Synes (present) and syntes (past) sound almost identical. How can I tell this sentence is in the past tense?
You are right that the "t" in syntes is often silent in spoken Danish, making it sound just like the present tense synes. To figure out the time frame in conversation, you have to look at the context or the other verbs in the sentence. Here, the verb var (was) tells us that the whole sentence is happening in the past.
Could I drop the word at from this sentence, like we sometimes drop "that" in English?
Yes, you absolutely can! Just like in English ("We thought the match was strange"), it is very common in everyday spoken Danish to drop the conjunction at and simply say Vi syntes kampen var mærkelig.
Why is the adjective mærkelig (strange) used here without a -t at the end?
Adjectives in Danish have to match the gender of the noun they describe. The word for match is en kamp, which is a common gender noun. Because it is an en word, the adjective describing it stays as mærkelig. If they were describing a neuter noun (an et word), the adjective would become mærkeligt.
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