Breakdown of Hun plejer at drikke morgenkaffen i stuen.
hun
she
drikke
to drink
i
in
at
to
stuen
the living room
pleje
to usually do
morgenkaffen
the morning coffee
Questions & Answers about Hun plejer at drikke morgenkaffen i stuen.
Why does the Danish sentence use a verb like plejer when the English translation uses an adverb?
In Danish, habitual actions are very often expressed with the verb at pleje (to be accustomed to) followed by at and another verb. So instead of using an adverb for 'usually', Danish literally says she is accustomed to drink (Hun plejer at drikke).
Why is the verb drikke in its infinitive form instead of the present tense drikker?
Because plejer is already conjugated in the present tense as the main verb. The word at works just like 'to' in English, linking the main verb plejer to the infinitive form drikke.
Could I use an adverb like normalt instead of the verb plejer to mean 'usually'?
Yes, you can, but the word order changes. Because Danish is a verb-second language, the conjugated verb must come before the adverb here. You would have to say Hun drikker normalt rather than translating word-for-word. However, using plejer at is the most natural way to express a routine in Danish.
How is the word morgenkaffen built?
It is a compound noun made of morgen (morning) and kaffe (coffee). To say 'the' morning coffee, Danish attaches the definite suffix to the end of the word. Since kaffe is an en-word ending in an -e, it just takes an -n at the end to become morgenkaffen.
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