Word
Vi kender hinandens styrker og svagheder.
Meaning
We know each other's strengths and weaknesses.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Vi kender hinandens styrker og svagheder.
How does the word hinandens work here?
The word hinandens is the possessive (genitive) form of hinanden (each other). Just like in English, you simply add an -s to the end of the word to mean 'each other's'. Because it is a possessive word, it acts as the owner of the nouns that follow it.
Why don't styrker and svagheder have the definite ending if we mean 'the' strengths?
In Danish grammar, whenever a noun comes directly after a possessive word like hinandens (each other's), it must take the indefinite form. You cannot attach the definite plural -ne ending here; saying hinandens styrkerne would be incorrect, so it remains hinandens styrker.
Why use kender instead of ved for 'know' in this sentence?
In Danish, kender is used when you are familiar with a person, place, or specific traits like someone's strengths and weaknesses. Ved is used for knowing facts or pieces of information (like knowing what time a train leaves). Since the sentence is about being familiar with each other's traits, kender is the correct choice.
How do we form the plural of a word like svaghed?
Danish nouns ending in the suffix -hed (which is very similar to the English suffix '-ness') form their plural by adding -er. Therefore, the singular svaghed (weakness) becomes the plural svagheder (weaknesses).