Breakdown of Kvinden står og malker koen i stalden hvad enten det er koldt eller varmt.
være
to be
kvinden
the woman
det
it (neuter)
og
and
Questions & Answers about Kvinden står og malker koen i stalden hvad enten det er koldt eller varmt.
What is the difference between using hvad enten ... eller and just om for "whether"?
In Danish, hvad enten ... eller is used for alternative conditions, meaning the main action happens regardless of the options (whether it is cold or warm, she milks the cow). The word om means "whether" or "if" only in indirect questions, like "I do not know whether she is milking the cow."
Why does the sentence use står og malker instead of just malker?
Danish lacks a direct equivalent to the English "-ing" form for continuous actions. To emphasize that an action is actively happening right now, Danish uses a position verb like står, sidder, or ligger combined with og and the main verb. Here, it literally means "stands and milks."
If I move the hvad enten clause to the beginning of the sentence, does the word order change?
Yes. If you start the sentence with the subordinate clause hvad enten det er koldt eller varmt, it occupies the first position. The main clause must then use inverted word order (verb before subject), becoming står kvinden og malker koen i stalden.
Why do koldt and varmt end in -t here?
They describe the pronoun det, which acts as a dummy subject referring to the general weather or temperature. Because det is a neuter word, the adjectives must take the neuter -t ending.