Breakdown of Boghandlen ligger mellem apoteket og rådhuset.
og
and
ligge
to lie (be lying down) / to be located
apoteket
the pharmacy
boghandlen
the bookstore
Questions & Answers about Boghandlen ligger mellem apoteket og rådhuset.
Why does the Danish sentence use ligger instead of er to mean "is"?
In Danish, when you talk about the location of a building, city, or country, you usually use ligger (literally "lies"). While you can sometimes use er, ligger is much more natural for fixed locations on a map.
How do I use mellem in this sentence?
Mellem means "between", and it works just like in English. You use it to show that the bookstore is situated in the middle of two other locations, linking those two places with og (and): mellem apoteket og rådhuset.
Why is "the bookstore" spelled boghandlen and not "boghandelen"?
The root word is en boghandel (a bookstore). When a Danish noun ends in -el, -en, or -er, it often drops the final e before attaching the "the" ending (-en or -et). So, boghandel + en becomes boghandlen to make it smoother to pronounce.
Why do apoteket and rådhuset end in -et?
They are both neuter nouns, also known as "t-words" (et apotek, et rådhus). To say "the pharmacy" and "the city hall", you attach the neuter definite ending -et to the end of each word.