Breakdown of De har altid dykket, men de har aldrig surfet.
de
they
have
to have
aldrig
never
altid
always
men
but
dykke
to dive
surfe
to surf
Questions & Answers about De har altid dykket, men de har aldrig surfet.
Why do altid and aldrig go between har and the main verbs?
In Danish main clauses with complex tenses (like the present perfect), central adverbs such as altid and aldrig must be placed between the auxiliary verb (har) and the past participle (dykket or surfet).
Does the word men change the word order in the second half of the sentence?
No, it doesn't. The word men is a coordinating conjunction, which means it joins two equal main clauses. Because the second part is still a main clause, it follows the exact same word order rules as the first part: Subject (de) + Auxiliary verb (har) + Adverb (aldrig) + Main verb (surfet).
Can I place altid or aldrig at the end of their clauses, like De har dykket altid?
No, that would sound unnatural in Danish. Central adverbs of frequency (like altid and aldrig) strictly belong in the middle of a main clause, immediately following the first conjugated verb.
Why does surfet end in -t instead of -ed like in English?
Even though at surfe is a loanword from English, it has been fully adopted into Danish and follows regular Danish conjugation rules. To form the past participle for the present perfect tense, it takes the standard Danish -t ending, becoming surfet.
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