Word
De gående plejer at vente ved fodgængerfeltet.
Meaning
The pedestrians usually wait at the crosswalk.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of De gående plejer at vente ved fodgængerfeltet.
at
to
ved
by, next to
pleje
to usually do
vente
to wait
Questions & Answers about De gående plejer at vente ved fodgængerfeltet.
Why doesn't gående have a plural ending here, since it refers to multiple people ("The pedestrians")?
In Danish, present participles (verbs ending in -ende, like gående) can act as nouns to describe people performing an action. When used this way, they are invariant, meaning their form never changes regardless of whether they are singular or plural. The plural meaning in this sentence comes entirely from the plural definite article De.
The English translation uses the adverb "usually," but how is plejer working in the Danish sentence?
Plejer is an active verb meaning "to have the habit of" or "to usually do". While English prefers an adverb ("usually") to modify the main verb, Danish uses plejer as the conjugated finite verb, which then takes an infinitive phrase. That is why it is followed by at vente (to wait).
Why do we use the preposition ved instead of på for "at the crosswalk"?
Ved translates to "by" or "at" and indicates proximity—being stationed right next to something. Since the pedestrians are waiting at the edge of the crosswalk rather than standing out in the middle of the street, ved is the natural choice. If they were actually crossing, you would say they are walking i (in) or på (on) fodgængerfeltet.
Both gående and the first part of fodgængerfeltet refer to pedestrians. Are gående and fodgænger interchangeable?