Question 1

Why does the sentence use sit instead of hendes?

Accepted Answer

In Danish, the reflexive possessive pronouns sin/sit/sine refer back to the subject of the clause (here, Den gavmilde kvinde). If you used hendes, it would mean she was donating a different woman's return. We specifically use sit because the noun it describes, afkast, is an et-word (neuter).

Question 2

Why does the adjective gavmilde end in an -e?

Accepted Answer

It takes the weak (definite) ending because it follows the definite article Den. When an adjective is placed between a definite article and a noun, it almost always adds an -e, regardless of the noun's gender.

Question 3

Since the current lesson is about adjectives with bare objects, does gavmild take one?

Accepted Answer

No, gavmild (generous) cannot take a bare object. If you want to specify what she is generous with, you must use the preposition med (e.g., hun er gavmild med sine penge - she is generous with her money). It doesn't behave like adjectives such as værd (worth) or lig (equal) which connect directly to an object without a preposition.

Question 4

Why say til velgørenheden (to the charity) instead of just til velgørenhed?

Accepted Answer

Using the definite suffix -en means she is donating to a specific, previously mentioned charity. If she were donating to charity as a general concept, you would drop the suffix and use the uncountable indefinite form: donerer til velgørenhed.

Den gavmilde kvinde donerer sit afkast til velgørenheden.

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