Log inSign up

Han mister måske sit job, og det frygter han meget.

Han mister måske sit job, og det frygter han meget.
He might lose his job, and he fears that a lot.
From Lesson 175:Clause substitution (det)·Danish

Questions & Answers about Han mister måske sit job, og det frygter han meget.

What exactly does det stand for in this sentence?
It stands for the entire first clause, Han mister måske sit job (He might lose his job). In Danish, you can use det to replace a whole idea or sentence you just mentioned, rather than repeating it. This is called clausal object substitution.
Why is the word order det frygter han and not han frygter det?
This happens because of the V2 (verb-second) rule. By pulling the object det to the front of the clause to smoothly connect to the first idea, it takes up the first position. The verb frygter must come second, so the subject han is pushed to the third position.
Why do we use sit instead of hans for "his" here?
We use sit because the job belongs to the subject of that clause (Han). If we used hans, it would mean he might lose another man's job. You use sit because et job is a neuter word (an et-word).
Why does måske (maybe) come after the verb mister (loses)?
In a standard Danish main clause, sentence adverbs like måske, ikke, or ofte come immediately after the first verb. So the sentence literally flows as "He loses maybe his job".

Learn Han mister måske sit job, og det frygter han meget and more in Danish

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.

  • ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
  • ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
  • ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free
Start learning Danish →