Breakdown of Nu hvor du er her, kan vi spise.
være
to be
her
here
du
you
spise
to eat
vi
we
kunne
to be able to / can
nu hvor
now that
Questions & Answers about Nu hvor du er her, kan vi spise.
Why does this sentence use hvor instead of a word like at for "that"?
In Danish, the fixed phrase for "now that" is nu hvor (literally "now where"). You cannot say nu at. It acts just like "now that" in English, introducing a condition based on something that just became true.
Why is the word order kan vi instead of vi kan?
This is because of the Danish V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire subordinate clause Nu hvor du er her counts as the first building block of the sentence. To keep the main verb kan in the second position, the subject vi must swap places with it.
Could I swap the order of the sentence halves and say "We can eat now that you are here"?
Yes, you can. If you start with the main clause, the sentence becomes Vi kan spise, nu hvor du er her. Notice that because the subject vi is now in the first position, you use the standard vi kan word order.
Is there a difference in meaning between starting with Nu hvor and starting with Fordi (because)?
They are very similar, but nu hvor specifically ties the reason to the current moment (since you are here right now). Fordi is a general "because" and lacks that immediate, time-specific feeling.
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