Questions & Answers about Det er svært at lære hvalpen at adlyde.
Why is the adjective svært written with a -t here?
Because the sentence uses the anticipatory subject det (it). When you use det as an empty subject to introduce an action, the adjective that follows must take the neuter -t ending to agree with it. That is why svær becomes svært.
Doesn't at lære mean to learn?
It means both! In Danish, the verb at lære can mean either to learn or to teach, depending entirely on the context. Here, because the action is being done to hvalpen (the puppy), it means to teach.
Why are there two at words in this sentence?
Each at is an infinitive marker, just like the English word to. The first one belongs to the phrase at lære (to teach), which is actually the real subject of the sentence that the word det anticipates. The second one belongs to at adlyde (to obey), which tells us what the puppy is being taught.
What is the base form of hvalpen?
The base form is en hvalp (a puppy). Because it is a common gender word, you attach the article -en to the end to make it definite, giving you hvalpen (the puppy).