Word
Vi har ikke haft noget vaskepulver i en uge.
Meaning
We have not had any washing powder for a week.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Vi har ikke haft noget vaskepulver i en uge.
Why do we use ikke ... noget here instead of just saying intet vaskepulver?
This sentence uses a compound verb, har haft (have had). In Danish, you cannot use ingen, intet, or ingenting as an object when the verb consists of an auxiliary verb plus a main verb. Instead, you must split the negation into ikke ... nogen or noget. Because of this rule, saying Vi har haft intet vaskepulver is grammatically incorrect.
How do I know whether to use noget or nogen for "any" in this split negation?
It depends on the gender of the noun it modifies. Vaskepulver is a neuter word (because it ends in the neuter root et pulver), so you must use the neuter form noget. If the noun were common gender, like en bil (a car), you would use nogen instead.
Why is "for a week" translated as i en uge? Shouldn't it be for en uge?
When you are talking about how long an action or state lasts (the duration), Danish uses the preposition i, not for. So "for a week" becomes i en uge, and "for three years" becomes i tre år. Using for here is a very common trap for English speakers!
Why does ikke go between har and haft?