Questions & Answers about Vi tildeler eleven legatet.
Why does eleven come before legatet in this sentence?
In Danish, just like in English, when a verb has two objects without a preposition, the indirect object (eleven, the receiver) comes right before the direct object (legatet, the thing being given). This is the standard ditransitive word order.
Can I change the word order and use a preposition, like "We award the grant to the student"?
Yes! If you want to put the direct object (legatet) first, you must use the preposition til (to) before the receiver. The sentence becomes: Vi tildeler legatet til eleven. This swap is known as dative shift.
Since tildeler starts with til-, why don't we need the preposition til in this exact sentence?
The prefix til- (to/towards) is built right into the verb tildeler (to award or assign), so its meaning is already there. Because you placed the indirect object (eleven) immediately after the verb, no extra preposition is needed. You only need the separate word til if you use the dative shift word order mentioned above.
Why does the sentence use eleven instead of den studerende for "the student"?
In Danish, en elev usually refers to a pupil in primary school, high school, or a folk high school. En studerende is strictly used for university or higher education students. This sentence implies the grant is going to a high schooler or a younger student.
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