Questions & Answers about Vi så en hval fra båden.
I usually see så used to mean 'so' or 'then'. How can I tell it means 'saw' here?
While så is very common as a linking word meaning 'so' or 'then', here it is the past tense of the irregular verb at se (to see). You can tell it is a verb because it comes directly after the subject vi (we) in the standard subject-verb word order.
Is the 'h' in hval pronounced?
No, the 'h' is completely silent. In Danish words starting with hv, the h is dropped and you only pronounce the v. You have probably seen this phonetic rule in action with question words like hvad, hvem, and hvor.
How does the pronunciation of the 'd' in båden work?
The 'd' here is a 'soft d' (blødt d) because it follows a vowel. It sounds somewhat like the 'th' in the English word 'this', but it is produced by resting the tip of your tongue behind your bottom front teeth instead of placing it between your teeth.
If I start the sentence with Fra båden to emphasize where we were, does the rest of the sentence stay the same?
No, the word order will change because of the Danish V2 rule, which states that the verb must always come in the second position of a main clause. If you move Fra båden into the first position, the verb så must immediately follow it, making the sentence Fra båden så vi en hval.