Breakdown of Det var naboen der smadrede vinduet i morges.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
vinduet
the window
naboen
the neighbor
Questions & Answers about Det var naboen der smadrede vinduet i morges.
Could I just say Naboen smadrede vinduet i morges? What does the Det var... der... structure add?
Yes, the simple sentence is perfectly correct. Adding Det var... der... creates a cleft sentence, which is the main focus of this lesson. It is used to emphasize a specific part of the sentence. Here, it heavily stresses that it was the neighbor, and definitely not the postman or a stray bird, that smashed the window.
Why do we use der for "who" in this sentence instead of hvem?
In Danish, hvem is mainly used as a question word (Who are you?). When connecting clauses with "who" or "that", you need a relative pronoun. In cleft sentences like this, you use der because the neighbor is the subject doing the action (smashing). You could also use som, but der is the most natural and common choice when it acts as the subject.
Why is there an "s" at the end of morges in the phrase i morges?
The phrase i morges is a fixed time expression meaning "this morning" when referring to a morning that has already passed. The "s" is a historical leftover from old Danish grammar. Be careful not to confuse it with i morgen without the "s", which actually means "tomorrow". You simply have to memorize i morges as a set phrase.
Both naboen and vinduet mean "the" something. Why do they end differently?