Breakdown of Den af regeringen netop vedtagne reform er omfattende.
være
to be
den
the (common, before adjective)
af
by (agent of a passive)
regeringen
the government
netop
just, exactly
vedtage
to adopt, to pass (e.g. a law)
reformen
the reform
omfattende
comprehensive, extensive
Questions & Answers about Den af regeringen netop vedtagne reform er omfattende.
Why is the phrase af regeringen netop vedtagne sandwiched between Den and reform?
This is an extended attributive phrase, which is common in formal and written Danish. Instead of putting the extra information in a relative clause after the noun, the entire phrase acts as one giant adjective squeezed between the definite article Den and the noun reform.
How do you know what order to put the words inside this long adjective phrase?
The phrase is built backward from the noun. The core past participle (vedtagne) goes immediately before the noun. Short adverbs like netop go right before that, and longer phrases like the agent af regeringen (by the government) get pushed to the front of the sandwich, right after the article Den.
Why does the past participle vedtagne end in -e instead of the usual -et?
Because it is functioning as an adjective describing a definite noun. Just like regular adjectives, past participles must take the definite ending -e when they follow a definite article like Den.
Is omfattende also part of this complex grammar structure?
No, omfattende is simply the main adjective of the sentence, meaning comprehensive. It ends in -ende because it is a present participle (like an -ing word in English) functioning as an adjective. Unlike past participles, present participles never change their endings to match the noun.
How would a Danish speaker phrase this in everyday conversation?
This sandwiched structure is very formal. In spoken Danish, you would almost always unpack it into a normal relative clause using som, such as: Den reform, som regeringen netop har vedtaget, er omfattende.
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