Breakdown of Efter at have boet i Danmark i fem år taler han godt dansk.
han
he
bo
to live
i
in
have
to have
Questions & Answers about Efter at have boet i Danmark i fem år taler han godt dansk.
Why is it Efter at have boet instead of an -ing word like in English?
In English, we say "after living" using an -ing word after a preposition. Danish doesn't use -ing forms this way. Instead, you use an infinitive phrase starting with at. So, "after living" becomes efter at have boet (literally "after to have lived").
Why does the sentence use i fem år to mean "for five years"?
When expressing the duration of an action, Danish uses the preposition i. English speakers often want to use for, but in Danish, for fem år would sound incorrect (unless you added siden to say for fem år siden, meaning "five years ago").
Why is the word order taler han and not han taler?
This is the Danish V2 rule in action. The verb must be the second main element in a main clause. Since the entire long phrase Efter at have boet i Danmark i fem år takes up the first position, the main verb (taler) must come next, followed immediately by the subject (han).
Is godt acting as an adverb here, or an adjective?
It works as both! It can be the adverb form of god, meaning he speaks "well." It can also be the neuter adjective form matching the neuter noun dansk, meaning he speaks "good Danish." Luckily, both grammatically require the spelling godt.