Breakdown of Den konstante råben på gaden er utålelig.
være
to be
den
the (common, before adjective)
på
on / at / in (a language) / of (after nouns like end or start)
gaden
the street
konstant
constant
råben
the shouting
utålelig
unbearable
Questions & Answers about Den konstante råben på gaden er utålelig.
How is the verbal noun råben formed, and what gender is it?
It is formed from the infinitive of the verb at råbe (to shout). By adding -n to the infinitive, we get the verbal noun råben (shouting). In Danish, verbal nouns ending in -en are always common gender (en-words).
Why do we use the article Den here instead of adding a definite suffix to the noun?
Verbal nouns ending in -en almost never take a definite suffix, as that would awkwardly make it råbenen. Furthermore, because we are using the adjective konstant to describe it, Danish grammar requires the independent definite article Den along with the definite adjective ending -e, resulting in Den konstante råben.
Why is the adjective utålelig not spelled with a -t or -e at the end?
The adjective utålelig (unbearable) describes the subject of the sentence, råben. Because verbal nouns in -en are singular common gender nouns, the adjective simply takes its basic dictionary form. If the subject had been a neuter et-word, it would be utåleligt, and if it were plural, it would be utålelige.
Why do we say på gaden rather than i gaden?
English speakers often want to use i because of the phrase 'in the street', but in Danish, you are conceptually considered to be on the physical surface of a street or road. Therefore, you generally must use the preposition på for streets (på gaden, på vejen).
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