Breakdown of Manden har gemt et eller andet i sit ærme.
manden
the man
i
in
have
to have
sit
his/her/its own (neuter)
gemme
to hide (put away, save)
et eller andet
something / some
ærmet
the sleeve
Questions & Answers about Manden har gemt et eller andet i sit ærme.
Why is et eller andet used here instead of just saying noget?
While noget means "something", et eller andet adds a layer of vagueness. It translates closely to "something or other" or "some unknown thing". It emphasizes that the speaker doesn't know exactly what the man has hidden.
Why is it et eller andet rather than en eller anden?
When referring to a completely unspecified "thing" (something), Danish uses the neuter form et eller andet. This matches how the word for "something" (noget) is neuter. If we were referring to an unspecified person ("someone"), we would use the common gender form en eller anden.
Why does the sentence use sit instead of hans for "his"?
Because the sleeve belongs to the subject of the sentence (manden). If the sentence used hans ærme, it would mean the man hid something in a different man's sleeve. The reflexive pronoun sit ensures it translates to "his own" sleeve.
Why is it sit ærme and not sin ærme?
The reflexive possessive pronoun has to agree with the gender of the noun it describes. Because the word for sleeve is an et-word (et ærme), you must use the neuter form sit instead of the common gender form sin.
I remember at gemme meaning "to save" - why does it mean "hidden" here?
The verb at gemme is used both for "to hide" (as it is used in this sentence) and "to save" or "keep" something for later. You have to rely on context to tell them apart, and hiding something in a sleeve is much more logical here!
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