Breakdown of Nødderne kan pigen ikke tåle på grund af allergien.
pigen
the girl
ikke
not
kunne
to be able to / can
på grund af
because of
allergien
the allergy
nødden
the nut
tåle
to tolerate
Questions & Answers about Nødderne kan pigen ikke tåle på grund af allergien.
Why is Nødderne at the beginning of the sentence when pigen is the one doing the action?
This is topicalization, which is exactly what this lesson focuses on. The direct object (Nødderne) is moved to the front to emphasize it. Because Danish uses the V2 rule, the verb (kan) must remain in the second position, so the subject (pigen) gets pushed to the third spot.
Does starting with Nødderne change the meaning compared to saying Pigen kan ikke tåle nødderne?
The factual meaning is the same, but it changes the focus. By putting Nødderne first, you are emphasizing the nuts. It sounds a bit like saying 'As for the nuts, the girl cannot tolerate them,' usually to contrast them with another food that was just mentioned.
Why does ikke come after pigen instead of right after kan?
In a main clause, the adverb ikke always comes after both the finite verb and the subject. In standard word order, that makes it Subject-Verb-Adverb. But since we moved the object to the front and inverted the verb and subject, the order becomes Object-Verb-Subject-Adverb (Nødderne kan pigen ikke).
Is på grund af a fixed expression?
Yes, it is a very common fixed phrase meaning 'because of' or 'due to'. The word grund means 'reason' or 'ground', so it literally translates to 'on reason of'.
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