Breakdown of De glæder sig til selve topmødet.
de
they
glæde sig til
to look forward to
selve
the very / the thing itself
topmødet
the summit
Questions & Answers about De glæder sig til selve topmødet.
Why is it selve topmødet and not topmødet selv?
When emphasizing 'the thing itself' (the actual summit as opposed to the travel or preparations), Danish usually places the emphatic determiner selve before the noun. While topmødet selv is grammatically possible, selve topmødet is much more common and natural when referring to events, concepts, or locations.
Why does selve require the definite noun form (topmødet)?
The word selve singles out a specific, known thing to emphasize it. Because you are referring to a specific event, the noun must take its definite ending (-et for neuter nouns like møde).
A quick refresher: why do we use sig instead of dem after glæder?
at glæde sig (to look forward to) is a reflexive verb. When the subject is third-person (de), you must use the reflexive pronoun sig. If you used dem, it would mean they are making a completely different group of people happy!
Could we use over instead of til after glæder sig?
Not without changing the meaning! at glæde sig til means to look forward to something in the future. at glæde sig over means to be happy or pleased about something that is happening now or has already happened. Since they are anticipating the summit, til is required.