Word
Dette er gerningsmanden hvis forbrydelse vi opklarer.
Meaning
This is the perpetrator whose crime we are solving.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Dette er gerningsmanden hvis forbrydelse vi opklarer.
være
to be
vi
we
dette
this (neuter)
hvis
whose (relative)
Questions & Answers about Dette er gerningsmanden hvis forbrydelse vi opklarer.
How does the relative pronoun hvis work here, and does it change form based on the noun?
In this sentence, hvis means 'whose' and shows possession. It connects the perpetrator to their crime. Unlike many Danish words, hvis is invariant, meaning it never changes form regardless of whether the noun it possesses is common, neuter, singular, or plural. You might also recognize hvis as the word for 'if', but here it acts entirely as a relative pronoun.
Why does the sentence start with the neuter word Dette when gerningsmanden is a common gender noun?
When introducing someone or pointing something out with phrases like 'This is...' or 'That is...', Danish uses the neuter forms dette or det by default. You use the neuter form because the specific identity or gender of the noun hasn't been grammatically established yet in the phrase.
How is the noun gerningsmanden constructed?
It is a compound word made of gerning (which means a deed or an act) and mand (man). They are glued together with a linking -s- to form gerningsmand (perpetrator). Finally, the -en suffix makes it definite, giving us 'the perpetrator'.
What is the literal meaning of the verb opklarer?
The verb opklarer literally translates to 'clears up' (op + klar). In Danish, this is the standard way to say you are solving a crime, a case, or a mystery. It is also used when talking about the weather clearing up.