Breakdown of Vi ser balletten i salen om aftenen.
se
to see / to look at
vi
we
i
in
om
in, at (with times of day)
aftenen
the evening
salen
the hall
balletten
the ballet
Questions & Answers about Vi ser balletten i salen om aftenen.
Why does the place "i salen" come before the time "om aftenen" in this sentence?
In Danish, when you have both a place and a time at the end of a sentence, the standard order is Place before Time. Because i salen (in the hall) is the place and om aftenen (in the evening) is the time, the place comes first. This is different from English, which is more flexible.
Why do we use the preposition "om" in "om aftenen" instead of "i"?
The phrase om aftenen is a fixed expression in Danish that means "in the evening". Danish uses the preposition om plus the definite form of the noun to talk about a routine or something that happens generally at that time of day, rather than on one specific date.
Why do the words balletten, salen, and aftenen all end in "-en"?
They are all singular nouns in the definite form, meaning they translate to "the" ballet, "the" hall, and "the" evening. Danish attaches -en to the end of common gender nouns to make them definite. Notice that ballet gets an extra t in balletten to keep the preceding vowel sound short.
Does the verb "ser" mean "see" or "watch" here?
It translates to "watch" in this context. The Danish verb at se is broadly used for both "to see" (an accidental action or ability) and "to watch" (an intentional action). So whether you accidentally see a bird or intentionally watch a performance like balletten, you use the same verb.
Learn Vi ser balletten i salen om aftenen and more in Danish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free