Word
Mine forældre skal skilles, hvilket er et stort chok.
Meaning
My parents are getting divorced, which is a big shock.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Mine forældre skal skilles, hvilket er et stort chok.
være
to be
et
a / an (neuter)
stor
big
min
my
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?