Breakdown of I dag sover de hos bedsteforældrene.
de
they
sove
to sleep
i dag
today
hos
at the place of / in, with (of a person's traits)
Questions & Answers about I dag sover de hos bedsteforældrene.
Why do we use hos here instead of i or på?
The preposition hos is used specifically when you are at a person's home or at a professional's workplace (like a doctor or hairdresser). Because they are at the grandparents' house, hos is the correct word. It translates well to 'at the place of' in English.
Why is the word order sover de (sleep they) and not de sover (they sleep)?
This is because of the Danish V2 rule, where the verb must be the second main idea in the sentence. Since the time phrase I dag (today) takes the first position, the verb sover has to come next, which pushes the subject de into the third spot.
How does the word bedsteforældrene break down?
It is a compound word. bedste means best (used in Danish for 'grand'), and forældre means parents. The -ne at the very end is the definite plural suffix, turning 'grandparents' into 'the grandparents'.
The English translation says 'are sleeping', but doesn't sover just mean 'sleep'?
Yes, but Danish does not have a separate continuous tense like the English '-ing' verbs. The simple present tense sover is used for both general facts ('they sleep') and ongoing actions ('they are sleeping'). The context of I dag tells us they are currently doing it.