Skraldespanden er tom, og der er ingenting i den.
The trash can is empty, and there is nothing in it.
Breakdown of Skraldespanden er tom, og der er ingenting i den.
være
to be
den
it (common)
og
and
i
in
der er
there is, there are
skraldespanden
the trash can
tom
empty
ingenting
nothing
Questions & Answers about Skraldespanden er tom, og der er ingenting i den.
Can I use ikke noget instead of ingenting in this sentence?
Yes, you could also say og der er ikke noget i den. Both mean the same thing, just like "and there is nothing in it" versus "and there is not anything in it" in English. Ingenting is a single absolute pronoun meaning "nothing" and is very natural in short statements like this.
Why does the sentence end with i den instead of i det for "in it"?
We use den because it refers back to skraldespanden (the trash can). Because skraldespand is a common gender noun (an en-word), we must use den when replacing it with "it". If the noun had been a neuter et-word like køleskabet (the fridge), you would use det.
Why do we use der er instead of det er?
Der er translates to "there is", which we use to state the existence or presence of something (or in this case, nothing). If you said det er, it would mean "it is", making the sentence "and it is nothing in it", which does not make sense.
Why is there an 'e' in the middle of skraldespanden?
This is a compound noun made from skrald (trash) and spand (bucket or can). The e in the middle is a linking letter used to join the two root words together smoothly. The -en at the very end is the definite suffix, making it "the trash can" rather than "a trash can".
Learn Skraldespanden er tom, og der er ingenting i den 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