Breakdown of Det er hende der har skylden.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
have
to have
hende
her
der
who, which (relative, subject)
skylden
the blame / the guilt
Questions & Answers about Det er hende der har skylden.
Why is it hende (her) instead of hun (she), since she is the one to blame?
In Danish sentences starting with Det er... (It is...), you use the object pronoun (hende, mig, ham) rather than the subject pronoun (hun, jeg, han). This is exactly like saying "It is her" in English, even though she is the subject of the second half of the sentence.
Why do we use der here? Could we use som?
Yes, you could use som! Both der and som mean "who" or "that" here. However, der is very common when it acts as the subject of the second part of the sentence (the one who "has" the blame). Remember that der can only be used as a subject, while som can act as both a subject and an object.
What exactly does har skylden mean word-for-word?
It translates literally to "has the blame" or "has the guilt". In Danish, instead of saying someone "is to blame" using the verb "to be", you use the verb har (has). skylden is the definite form (the blame) of the noun en skyld (a blame or guilt).
Why use this longer structure instead of just saying Hun har skylden (She is to blame)?
This structure is called a cleft sentence, which is the focus of your current lesson. It splits a simple sentence into two parts to add emphasis. By saying Det er hende... der... (It is her... who...), you put a strong spotlight on the person. It implies that she specifically is the one to blame, and not someone else.
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