Word
De syntes at stemningen var dejlig.
Meaning
They thought that the atmosphere was lovely.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about De syntes at stemningen var dejlig.
Why use syntes here instead of tænkte or troede?
In Danish, there are different words for "thought". Syntes is the past tense of synes, which means to have a subjective opinion about something you have personally experienced. Because they actually experienced the atmosphere and are expressing an opinion on it, we use syntes. You would use tænkte for the literal act of thinking in your head, and troede for believing something to be true without knowing for sure.
Does the -s ending on syntes mean it is a passive verb?
No. While an -s ending often makes a verb passive in Danish, synes (and its past tense syntes) is a special type of verb that always ends in -s but has an active meaning. It is not a passive action; it simply belongs to a small group of verbs where the -s is permanently built into the word.
How is the word stemningen formed?
The base noun is en stemning (an atmosphere or mood). To say "the" atmosphere, Danish takes that "en" and attaches it to the end of the word as a suffix, making it stemningen.
Why does the sentence use dejlig and not dejligt or dejlige?