Breakdown of Det var en meget pinlig undskyldning.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
en
a / an (common)
meget
very; much, a lot
undskyldningen
the excuse
pinlig
embarrassing
Questions & Answers about Det var en meget pinlig undskyldning.
Why does the sentence start with Det when undskyldning is an en word?
When introducing what something is, Danish uses det as an introductory or "dummy" subject, regardless of the following noun's gender. You would only use den if you were pointing back to a specific noun mentioned in a previous sentence, like "Hørte du hendes undskyldning? Den var pinlig." (Did you hear her excuse? It was embarrassing.)
What is the difference between pinlig and flov?
Pinlig describes a situation or thing that causes embarrassment (it translates to "embarrassing"). Flov describes the feeling of a person (translating to "embarrassed"). So, you would feel flov if you had to make a pinlig excuse.
Doesn't undskyldning mean "apology"?
Yes, it means both "apology" and "excuse". Context usually makes it clear which one is meant. An embarrassing (pinlig) or poor one is almost always an excuse. The word literally breaks down to the concept of removing guilt: und- (away from) + skyld (guilt) + -ning (noun ending).
Why doesn't the adjective take a -t ending to match the Det at the start of the sentence?
Adjectives must agree with the specific noun they describe. Here, the adjective is locked inside the phrase en meget pinlig undskyldning. Since undskyldning is a common-gender (en) word, the adjective takes the basic form pinlig without a -t.
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