Fordi røret dryppede, fik vi tætnet det i dag.
Because the pipe was dripping, we got it sealed today.
Breakdown of Fordi røret dryppede, fik vi tætnet det i dag.
det
it (neuter)
vi
we
i dag
today
fordi
because
få
to get, to receive / to have (children)
dryppe
to drip
røret
the pipe
tætne
to seal
Questions & Answers about Fordi røret dryppede, fik vi tætnet det i dag.
Does fik vi tætnet det mean we sealed the pipe ourselves, or that we hired someone to do it?
It can actually mean either! The structure få + past participle focuses on the achievement or completion of a task. It translates closely to "we got it sealed." Whether you managed to fix it yourself or had someone else do it depends on context, but the grammatical focus here is simply that the task was successfully finished.
Why is the word order fik vi instead of vi fik in the main clause?
This is a classic example of the V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire subordinate clause Fordi røret dryppede acts as the first position of the main sentence. Because the main verb must always be in the second position, fik comes immediately after the comma, pushing the subject vi to the other side.
Is the verb tætnet related to the adjective tæt?
Yes, exactly. It is derived from the adjective tæt, which means "tight," "dense," or "leakproof." Adding the suffix -ne turns it into the verb at tætne (to seal or make tight). In this sentence, we are using its past participle, tætnet.
Why do we use the pronoun det for "it" here instead of den?
Det refers back to the pipe. Because the Danish word for pipe is a neuter noun (et rør, røret), you must use the neuter pronoun det when referring back to it later in the sentence.
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