Question 1

The English translation uses "of", so why does the Danish sentence use for instead of af?

Accepted Answer

Adjectives expressing feelings often take specific prepositions that don't map directly to English. In Danish, bange (afraid/scared) is always paired with for. You simply have to learn bange for as a fixed combination.

Question 2

What is the base form of mytteriet, and how is the definite article attached?

Accepted Answer

The base form is et mytteri (a mutiny). Because it is a neuter noun (an et-word), it takes the -et suffix in the definite form to mean "the mutiny". Many nouns ending in -i in Danish are loanwords, and a large portion of them are neuter.

Question 3

Since this lesson is about fossilized genitives (like til søs), why doesn't mytteri get an -s ending after the preposition?

Accepted Answer

Fossilized -s or -e endings only survive in a handful of fixed, archaic idioms, mostly after prepositions like til or på (e.g., til bords, på fode). In a normal, dynamically created phrase like for mytteriet, standard modern Danish grammar applies, so the noun just takes its regular definite form without any special genitive ending.

Question 4

Could we use a single verb instead of the adjective phrase var bange for?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you could say Kaptajnen frygtede mytteriet (The captain feared the mutiny). The verb at frygte (to fear) takes a direct object and doesn't require a preposition. It sounds slightly more formal and dramatic, which fits the context of a mutiny perfectly.

Kaptajnen var bange for mytteriet.

Breakdown of Kaptajnen var bange for mytteriet.

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