Breakdown of De planlægger at plyndre det store skib.
de
they
skibet
the ship
stor
big
det
the (neuter, before adjective)
at
to
planlægge
to plan
plyndre
to plunder
Questions & Answers about De planlægger at plyndre det store skib.
Why is it det store skib and not det store skibet?
In Danish, when a noun is preceded by an adjective, you use the free-standing definite article (den or det) and the adjective's definite form (store), but you do not add the definite suffix to the noun itself. It remains skib, not skibet.
Why does the adjective stor have an -e at the end here?
Because the noun phrase is definite, indicated by the article det. When an adjective follows a definite article, a possessive pronoun, or a genitive noun, it must take its weak or definite form, which almost always means adding an -e.
Why does planlægger have a double G?
The verb planlægge is a compound of the noun plan and the verb lægge (to lay or put). It conjugates exactly like the base verb lægge, which has a double G in both its infinitive and present tense forms.
Is the infinitive marker at required before plyndre?
Yes. Unlike modal verbs (such as kan or skal) which take a bare infinitive, the verb planlægge requires the marker at before the following infinitive, functioning exactly like 'planning to' in English.
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