Word
Der arbejder adskillige operatører inde i kontrolrummet.
Meaning
There are several operators working inside the control room.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Der arbejder adskillige operatører inde i kontrolrummet.
der
there
arbejde
to work
i
in
inde
inside (location at)
Questions & Answers about Der arbejder adskillige operatører inde i kontrolrummet.
The English translation uses the '-ing' form ('working'). Since this lesson covers present participles, why aren't we using arbejdende here?
While this lesson teaches the have + object + present participle structure (like vi har maskinen kørende - 'we have the machine running'), Danish generally doesn't use participles for ongoing actions. To say 'There are people working', Danish uses the existential Der followed by the regular present tense verb. Literally, the sentence says 'There work several operators...'.
Why does the verb arbejder come before the actual subject adskillige operatører?
This is a classic Danish existential sentence. When introducing a new, indefinite subject performing an action, Danish uses the dummy pronoun Der in the first position. Because of the V2 (verb-second) rule, the verb arbejder must come next, pushing the real subject (adskillige operatører) to the other side of the verb.
What is the nuance of adskillige compared to mange or flere?
Adskillige means 'several' or 'quite a few.' It indicates a solid, notable amount—usually more than nogle (some) or flere (several/a few), but perhaps not quite as overwhelmingly large as mange (many). It also sounds slightly more formal or precise, which fits the context of a control room.
Why use inde i instead of just the preposition i?