Breakdown of Lejligheden er lille. Til gengæld ligger den midt i byen.
være
to be
den
it (common)
byen
the city
lejligheden
the apartment
ligge
to lie (be lying down) / to be located
lille
small
midt i
in the middle of
til gengæld
on the other hand; in return
Questions & Answers about Lejligheden er lille. Til gengæld ligger den midt i byen.
What does "Til gengæld" literally mean, and how is it used here?
Til gengæld literally translates to something like "in return" or "as compensation." In Danish, it is very commonly used to mean "on the other hand," "however," or "then again." It is the perfect phrase to introduce a positive contrast that makes up for a negative thing you just mentioned—in this case, the great location making up for the small size of the apartment.
Why does the second sentence say "ligger den" instead of "den ligger"?
This happens because of the Danish V2 (verb-second) rule. The phrase Til gengæld takes up the first position in the sentence. Because the verb must always be the second idea in a main clause, the verb ligger comes next, pushing the subject den to the other side of the verb.
Why use the verb "ligger" here instead of "er" to say "it is"?
While you could technically use er (is), Danish strongly prefers using positional verbs like ligger (lies) or står (stands) to describe the physical location of things. Because a building or an apartment is spread out flat on the ground or within an area, Danish speakers say that it ligger in the city.
Why is the pronoun "den" used for "it" instead of "det"?
Den refers back to Lejligheden (the apartment). Because en lejlighed is a common gender noun (an en-word), you must use the common gender pronoun den to mean "it". If you were talking about a neuter noun (an et-word) like huset (the house), you would use det instead.
Learn Lejligheden er lille. Til gengæld ligger den midt i byen and more in Danish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free