Breakdown of Vi syntes at gæstfriheden var meget elegant.
være
to be
vi
we
at
that
synes
to think
meget
very; much, a lot
gæstfriheden
the hospitality
elegant
elegant
Questions & Answers about Vi syntes at gæstfriheden var meget elegant.
Why is syntes used here instead of troede or tænkte?
In Danish, synes (and its past tense syntes) expresses a subjective opinion about something you have experienced. Because the speaker is sharing an opinion about hospitality they received, syntes is the right choice. Troede means believed in a factual sense without knowing for sure, and tænkte refers to the mental act of thinking.
How is the noun gæstfriheden formed?
It builds on the noun en gæst (a guest) and the adjective fri (free). The suffix -hed turns it into an abstract noun meaning hospitality, similar to -ity or -ness in English. Finally, the -en at the end is the attached definite article, making it 'the' hospitality.
Why doesn't the adjective elegant have any endings here?
The noun gæstfrihed is a common-gender word (en word), as shown by its definite ending in gæstfriheden. When an adjective acts as a subject complement for a singular common-gender noun, it stays in its base form. Therefore, elegant does not get a plural -e or a neuter -t.
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