Breakdown of Det er organisationen som han er frivillig i.
være
to be
han
he
det
it (neuter)
i
in
som
who, which, that (relative pronoun)
frivillig
volunteer / voluntary
organisationen
the organization
Questions & Answers about Det er organisationen som han er frivillig i.
Why is the preposition i at the very end of the sentence?
This is called preposition stranding. Just like in casual English ('the organization that he is a volunteer in'), Danish leaves the preposition at the end of the relative clause instead of putting it before the relative pronoun (som). In fact, in Danish, you cannot put a preposition directly before som.
Could I use der instead of som in this sentence?
No, you have to use som here. The word der can only be used when it acts as the subject of the relative clause. In this clause, han (he) is the subject, so you must use som.
Can we drop the word som completely here?
Yes! Because som is not the subject of the relative clause, it is perfectly natural to leave it out, just like dropping 'that' in English. You will very often hear: Det er organisationen han er frivillig i.
Why is there no word for 'a' before frivillig?
When stating someone's profession, role, or nationality using the verb at være (to be), Danish typically leaves out the indefinite article (en or et). So while English says 'he is a volunteer', Danish simply says han er frivillig.
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