Word
Den nye foodtruck, den laver smagfuld mad.
Meaning
The new food truck, it makes flavorful food.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Den nye foodtruck, den laver smagfuld mad.
den
it (common)
maden
the food
lave
to make; to do (an activity)
ny
new
Questions & Answers about Den nye foodtruck, den laver smagfuld mad.
Why say Den nye foodtruck, den laver instead of just Den nye foodtruck laver?
This is a classic example of left dislocation (venstredislokation). By pulling Den nye foodtruck to the very front and repeating it with the pronoun den, you emphasize the food truck as the main topic of your sentence. It is extremely common in spoken Danish when introducing a new topic or drawing focus to it before making your actual statement.
How do I know which pronoun to use after the comma?
The pronoun must always match the gender and number of the dislocated noun. Since foodtruck is an English loanword that has been assigned the common gender in Danish (en foodtruck), you use den. If you had fronted a neuter word like Det nye bageri (The new bakery), you would use det.
Is the comma strictly necessary in this sentence structure?
Yes. In left dislocation, the comma visually and grammatically separates the fronted topic from the actual main clause. The main clause does not officially begin until the pronoun (den), which serves as the grammatical subject for the verb laver.
Why is the adjective smagfuld in its basic form rather than smagfuldt or smagfulde?