Breakdown of Håndværkeren er i gang med at renovere badeværelset.
være
to be
at
to
badeværelset
the bathroom
med
with; by (bus, train) / of, to (the meaning or point of something)
håndværkeren
the craftsman
i gang
in progress, underway (busy with + doing)
renovere
to renovate
Questions & Answers about Håndværkeren er i gang med at renovere badeværelset.
How does 'er i gang med at' change the meaning compared to just saying 'renoverer'?
In Danish, the regular present tense renoverer can mean both 'renovates' and 'is renovating'. By adding the phrase er i gang med at before the infinitive verb renovere, you specifically emphasize that the craftsman is busy doing this action right now. It is the best way to say someone is currently in the middle of doing something.
Why is there an 'at' before 'renovere'?
The expression we are learning is være i gang med. Because it ends with the preposition med (with), the action verb that follows it must be in its infinitive form, complete with the infinitive marker at (to). Literally, the structure translates to 'is in going with to renovate'.
What parts make up the word 'håndværkeren'?
It is a compound word. It comes from en håndværker (a craftsman or manual worker). This is built from hånd (hand) and værk (work or craft), plus the suffix -er which means a person who does that thing. The final -en makes it definite, changing it to 'the craftsman'.
Why does 'badeværelset' end in '-t' while 'håndværkeren' ends in '-en'?
This is because they belong to different noun gender groups. Et badeværelse (a bathroom) is an 'et' word (neuter gender), so we add -t to the end to mean 'the bathroom'. Meanwhile, en håndværker is an 'en' word (common gender), so it takes -en to mean 'the craftsman'.
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