Breakdown of Drengen siger altid at han drømmer om at blive landmand.
han
he
drengen
the boy
sige
to say
altid
always
Questions & Answers about Drengen siger altid at han drømmer om at blive landmand.
Why is there no word for "a" before landmand?
When talking about professions, nationalities, or distinct life roles, Danish usually drops the indefinite article (en or et) after verbs like at blive (to become) or at være (to be). So instead of becoming "a farmer", he simply becomes landmand.
Why does the sentence use om at blive to mean "of becoming"?
The verb at drømme (to dream) is typically followed by the preposition om (about/of). When you follow a preposition with an action in Danish, you use the infinitive form with at (to). While English uses the "-ing" form ("dreams of becoming"), Danish literally says "dreams about to become" (drømmer om at blive).
Why is the word order siger altid instead of altid siger like in English?
This is due to the Danish V2 rule, which requires the verb to be the second piece of information in a main clause. Since drengen (the boy) is in the first position, the verb siger (says) must come exactly second. Central adverbs like altid (always) are placed right after that first verb.
What is the literal translation of the word landmand?
It literally translates to "land man" or "country man". It is a compound word made of land (land, country, or countryside) and mand (man), which is the standard Danish word for a farmer.