Breakdown of Uden adgangsbrikken kan vi ikke komme ind på kontoret.
vi
we
ikke
not
komme
to come
kontoret
the office
kunne
to be able to / can
på
on / at / in (a language) / of (after nouns like end or start)
ind
in, into
uden
without
adgangsbrikken
the access fob
Questions & Answers about Uden adgangsbrikken kan vi ikke komme ind på kontoret.
Why does the verb kan come before the subject vi here?
Because the sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Uden adgangsbrikken (Without the access fob). This triggers the Danish V2 rule, meaning the main verb (kan) must be the second element in the sentence, which forces the subject (vi) to swap places and come right after it.
How would I apply this lesson's topic to ask "Whose access fob do we have?"
You would say, "Hvis adgangsbrik har vi?" The interrogative possessive pronoun hvis (whose) is placed directly in front of the noun it relates to, working exactly the same way "whose" does in English.
Why do we use ind instead of inde?
ind indicates movement or direction (getting into somewhere), whereas inde indicates a stationary position (already being inside). Because the sentence describes the physical movement of entering the office (komme ind), we must use the directional form ind.
Why is it på kontoret rather than i kontoret?
Danish often uses the preposition på (on) for workplaces, public buildings, and institutions. You say på kontoret (in/at the office) just like you would say på hospitalet (at the hospital) or på biblioteket (at the library).
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