Breakdown of Vi fik dyr olie mandag.
vi
we
dyr
expensive
mandag
Monday
få
to get, to receive / to have (children)
olien
the oil
Questions & Answers about Vi fik dyr olie mandag.
Why is dyr in its basic form here instead of taking an -e or -t ending?
Olie is an uncountable mass noun of the common gender (en olie). When an adjective modifies a common-gender indefinite noun, it takes the basic root form without any endings. Because we are talking about oil as an indefinite mass or general substance here, the adjective stays dyr.
Could olie ever act as a plural noun and take the adjective dyre?
Yes! If you are talking about specific types or bottles of oil (like different brands of olive oil), it becomes a countable plural noun. In that case, you would use the plural adjective ending and write dyre olier (expensive oils).
Does fik imply that we bought the oil, or just that we received it?
At få (past tense: fik) directly translates to "to get" or "to receive." It doesn't strictly mean you paid for it yourself. If you wanted to specifically emphasize the purchase, you would use købte (bought). However, just like in English, "we got" is often used casually to imply a purchase.
Why does the sentence just say mandag instead of i mandags or på mandag?
In news writing or brief statements, the bare weekday is often used to mean "on Monday." In everyday spoken Danish, however, you will usually hear i mandags to indicate a Monday in the past, or på mandag for a Monday in the future. Because the verb fik is in the past tense, we know this refers to a past Monday.
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