Breakdown of Det er et fremmed kvarter, og vi ved ikke hvor vi er.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
og
and
et
a / an (neuter)
vi
we
ikke
not
hvor
where
vide
to know
kvarteret
the neighborhood
fremmed
foreign
Questions & Answers about Det er et fremmed kvarter, og vi ved ikke hvor vi er.
Why does this sentence use ved instead of kender for 'know'?
ved comes from the verb vide, which is used when knowing facts, information, or clauses starting with question words like hvor (where). Since we don't know the fact of where we are, we use ved. We use kende when we are familiar with a person, place, or thing.
How would the Danish change if I wanted to say 'we don't know the neighborhood' instead?
Because a neighborhood is a physical place you are familiar with (rather than a statement of fact), you would use the verb kende. You would say vi kender ikke kvarteret.
Why doesn't the adjective fremmed have a -t at the end to match the neuter et word kvarter?
Most adjectives add a -t when describing an et word, but fremmed is an exception. It stays as fremmed for both en and et words in the basic singular form. It only changes to fremmede if it is plural or definite.
What is the exact meaning of fremmed here? Does it mean 'foreign'?
It can mean 'foreign' (as in from another country), but in this context, it means 'unfamiliar' or 'strange'. Because it is et fremmed kvarter, the speakers simply do not recognize their surroundings.
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