Questions & Answers about Hun sov hele natten igennem.
Why is the noun in the definite form (natten) right after hele?
In Danish, the word hele (whole) behaves differently than most adjectives. Instead of using a separate definite word in front, you just use the definite form of the noun itself. That is why it is hele natten rather than den hele nat. You will also see this in common phrases like hele dagen (the whole day).
Why is igennem at the end of the sentence instead of before the time phrase?
Here, igennem works as an adverb emphasizing that the sleeping lasted from the very beginning to the very end of the night. When used to mean completely through a period of time, it is placed after the time phrase. You could also say gennem hele natten using it as a preposition before the noun, but putting igennem at the end is a very natural Danish phrasing.
Is sov an irregular verb?
Yes, sov is the past tense of at sove (to sleep). It is an irregular (or strong) verb, meaning it changes its inner vowel rather than taking a standard past tense ending like -te or -ede. The core forms you need at this level are sover (present), sov (past), and har sovet (present perfect).