Breakdown of Læbestiften på cigaretten i askebægeret må tilhøre en kvinde.
kvinden
the woman
en
a / an (common)
i
in
måtte
to be allowed to / must
på
on / at / in (a language) / of (after nouns like end or start)
tilhøre
to belong to
læbestiften
the lipstick
cigaretten
the cigarette
askebægeret
the ashtray
Questions & Answers about Læbestiften på cigaretten i askebægeret må tilhøre en kvinde.
Why is må used here instead of skal?
In this lesson, we see how modal verbs express logical deductions. Here, må means 'must' in the sense of a strong conclusion ('it must be the case based on the evidence'). If you used skal, it would sound like a rule or a command, as if the lipstick is legally obligated to belong to a woman.
Does the verb tilhøre need a preposition to mean 'belong TO'?
No, tilhøre has the 'to' built right into the verb. You just follow it directly with the owner, as in tilhøre en kvinde. Adding a preposition like til after it is a common English-speaker mistake, but in Danish, it is incorrect.
Why does askebægeret end in -et when the other nouns end in -en?
Askebæger (ashtray) is a neuter word, so it takes the -et definite ending. It is a compound of aske (ash) and bæger (cup). In Danish, the gender of a compound noun always matches its final word, and et bæger is neuter. Meanwhile, læbestift and cigaret are both common gender (en) words.
The subject of this sentence is very long. Does that affect the V2 (verb-second) rule?
Not at all. The entire phrase Læbestiften på cigaretten i askebægeret acts as one single block of information (the subject) taking up the first position. The verb må then naturally takes the second position, following the strict Danish V2 rule perfectly.
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