Breakdown of Der står altid en stor mængde mennesker ved den der kaffebar.
der
there
en
a / an (common)
stor
big
altid
always
Questions & Answers about Der står altid en stor mængde mennesker ved den der kaffebar.
Why does this sentence start with "Der står" instead of "En stor mængde mennesker står"?
This is a presentational construction. In Danish, when introducing a new, indefinite subject (like en stor mængde mennesker), we usually use a dummy der followed by an intransitive verb (like står) to present it. Starting the sentence with En stor mængde mennesker står... sounds clunky and unnatural in Danish.
Why does the adverb "altid" come before "en stor mængde mennesker"?
In a main clause, central adverbs like altid must come right after the conjugated verb (står). Because der acts as the grammatical subject at the start of the sentence, it pushes the logical subject (en stor mængde mennesker) further back, forcing altid to sit between the verb and the crowd.
Could we just use "er" (is) instead of "står" (stands) in this construction?
You can say Der er altid en stor mængde mennesker, but Danish strongly prefers positional verbs like står (stands), sidder (sits), or ligger (lies) when describing where things or people are. Since a crowd of people waiting for coffee stands, står makes the sentence sound much more vivid and native.
What does "den der" mean right before "kaffebar"?
den der translates to "that" (literally "that there"). It is a very common, slightly colloquial way to point out a specific thing, similar to saying "that coffee shop right there." It is used instead of the more formal demonstrative pronoun den.