Word
Løsningen er hverken nem eller mulig.
Meaning
The solution is neither easy nor possible.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Løsningen er hverken nem eller mulig.
Why does this sentence use eller for 'nor'?
In Danish, the pairing for 'neither ... nor' is always hverken ... eller. Even though eller usually translates to 'or', it doubles as 'nor' when paired with hverken. There is no separate Danish word for 'nor'.
Does using hverken ... eller change the word order in this sentence?
No. Here, hverken ... eller is just linking two adjectives (nem and mulig). The main sentence is still a standard subject-verb setup: Løsningen (the subject) comes first, followed directly by er (the verb).
Why do the adjectives nem and mulig have no extra endings?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe. Here, they describe Løsningen, which comes from en løsning (a common gender noun). Because the noun is singular and common gender, the adjectives stay in their basic form. If it were a neuter noun (an et word), they would both get a -t at the end.
How does the word Løsningen show that it means 'the solution' rather than 'a solution'?
Instead of using a separate word for 'the', Danish attaches an ending to the noun. The base word is en løsning (a solution). By attaching -en to the end of the word, it becomes løsningen (the solution).