Word
Han kan ikke finde skrællekniven fordi hun altid har den.
Meaning
He cannot find the peeler because she always has it.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Han kan ikke finde skrællekniven fordi hun altid har den.
han
he
hun
she
den
it (common)
have
to have
Questions & Answers about Han kan ikke finde skrællekniven fordi hun altid har den.
Why does altid come before the verb har here?
Because fordi introduces a subordinate clause. In Danish subordinate clauses, central adverbs like altid (always) or ikke (not) must be placed between the subject (hun) and the verb (har).
Could I use for instead of fordi to mean "because"?
Yes, but it changes the word order. For acts as a coordinating conjunction connecting two main clauses. In a main clause, the verb comes before the adverb, so the sentence would end as: ... for hun har den altid.
How is the word skrællekniven constructed?
It is a compound word made from the verb at skrælle (to peel) and the noun kniven (the knife). When forming a compound from a verb and a noun in Danish, the verb usually keeps its infinitive -e ending.
Why do we use the pronoun den at the very end of the sentence?
The pronoun den (it) must agree with the grammatical gender of the noun it replaces. Because skrællekniven is an en-word (common gender), we use den. If he were looking for an et-word (neuter) like rivejernet (the grater), the sentence would end with det.