Breakdown of Vi er hjemme, men vi vil gerne udenfor.
være
to be
vi
we
ville
want to / will
gerne
gladly / would like to
hjemme
at home
men
but
udenfor
outside
Questions & Answers about Vi er hjemme, men vi vil gerne udenfor.
Where is the Danish verb for "to go" in the second half of the sentence?
It is omitted! This is a very common Danish shortcut. When you have a modal verb (like vil) followed by an adverb that shows direction (like udenfor), you can completely drop the main verb of motion (like gå or tage). So, vi vil gerne udenfor literally means "we want gladly outside," but translates naturally as "we would like to go outside."
Why do we use hjemme instead of hjem in the first half?
Danish uses different adverbs depending on whether there is movement or a fixed position. hjemme means you are resting at a location (you are "at home"). If you were moving towards your house ("going home"), you would use the motion word hjem. Since the first part of the sentence says "we are at home," there is no movement, so we use hjemme.
What does gerne add to the word vil?
On its own, vil means "want to" or sometimes "will." Adding the adverb gerne (which translates roughly to "gladly") softens the phrase to mean "would like to." It is the standard, natural way to express a polite wish or desire in Danish.
Could I say vi vil gerne ud instead of udenfor?
Yes, you definitely could! The word ud simply means "out," while udenfor specifically means "outside" or "outdoors." Saying vi vil gerne ud ("we want to go out") sounds very natural and means almost exactly the same thing in this context, but udenfor emphasizes the physical space of being outside the house.
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