Breakdown of Toget kører ikke fordi der er en signalfejl.
en
a / an (common)
køre
to drive / to ride (a bike) / to run (of a train or bus service)
ikke
not
toget
the train
fordi
because
der er
there is, there are
signalfejlen
the signal error
Questions & Answers about Toget kører ikke fordi der er en signalfejl.
The current lesson is about the preposition på grund af. How could I rewrite this sentence to use that instead of fordi?
Fordi is a conjunction, meaning it must be followed by a full clause with a subject and verb (der er en signalfejl). To use the preposition på grund af (because of), you must follow it with a noun phrase. You would drop the subject and verb to say: Toget kører ikke på grund af en signalfejl.
Why does the sentence use kører? Doesn't that mean "drives"?
Yes, at køre means to drive, but in Danish it is the standard verb for trains, buses, cars, and even operating machines. While in English a train "runs", you cannot use the Danish verb løber here, because that specifically means running on foot.
If I wanted to say "because there is not a signal error", where would ikke go in the second half of the sentence?
It would go before the verb: fordi der ikke er en signalfejl. Because fordi starts a subordinate clause (a dependent part of the sentence), small adverbs like ikke must be placed before the verb. Notice how in the main clause (Toget kører ikke), the ikke comes after the verb as expected.
Why is der used instead of det in der er?
Der er is the direct equivalent of the English phrase "there is" or "there are" when stating that something exists. You use der as a placeholder subject. If you used det er, it would specifically mean "it is" or "that is".
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