Breakdown of Mine forældre skal skilles, hvilket er et stort chok.
være
to be
et
a / an (neuter)
stor
big
min
my
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
forældrene
the parents
hvilket
which (referring to a clause) / which (relative, after a preposition, neuter noun)
skilles
to get divorced
chokket
the shock
Questions & Answers about Mine forældre skal skilles, hvilket er et stort chok.
Why do we use hvilket here instead of the usual relative pronouns som or der?
Som and der are used when you refer back to a specific noun. In this sentence, hvilket (which) refers to the entire preceding clause—the whole situation of the parents getting divorced. When 'which' points back to a full idea rather than just a single noun, you must use hvilket or hvad.
If I used hvad instead of hvilket to refer to the whole clause, how would the sentence change?
If you use hvad, you must add der because it acts as the subject of the new clause. The sentence would become: Mine forældre skal skilles, hvad der er et stort chok. Hvilket is more common in writing, while hvad der is very common in everyday speech.
Why is the verb phrase skal skilles used here to mean 'are getting divorced'?
The modal verb skal is used here to indicate a firm plan or a future event that is bound to happen. Skilles is an s-verb with a reciprocal meaning, showing that two people are doing the action to each other (separating or divorcing).
Why does the adjective stor get a -t ending here?
This is a quick reminder of adjective agreement! The word for 'shock' is a neuter noun (et chok). Because it is an et word, the adjective describing it must take the neuter -t ending, turning stor into stort.
Learn Mine forældre skal skilles, hvilket er et stort chok and more in Danish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free