Word
Han kiggede ud af vinduet og begyndte at smågrine for sig selv.
Meaning
He looked out the window and started to chuckle to himself.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Han kiggede ud af vinduet og begyndte at smågrine for sig selv.
han
he
og
and
vinduet
the window
at
to
Questions & Answers about Han kiggede ud af vinduet og begyndte at smågrine for sig selv.
Why does the Danish sentence use for sig selv when the English translation says "to himself"?
In Danish, when someone does something privately, quietly, or in isolation, you use the preposition for followed by the reflexive pronoun and selv. Even though English uses "to" in "to himself", using til sig selv in Danish would sound like he is physically directing a laugh at his own body. The phrase for sig selv captures the meaning of doing it alone or privately.
Could we use for ham selv instead of for sig selv here?
No, because the person laughing is the same person as the subject of the sentence (han). When the subject and the object are the same third-person entity, Danish strictly requires the reflexive pronoun sig. If you said for ham selv, it would mean he was chuckling privately for a different male person.
The word smågrine translates to "chuckle". How is this word built?
It is made by adding the prefix små- (meaning small) to the verb grine (to laugh). Danish frequently attaches små- to verbs to indicate that an action is done mildly, quietly, or in small amounts. Another common example is at småsnakke, which means to chat or make small talk.
Why do we need the word af in ud af vinduet? Doesn't ud already mean "out"?