Breakdown of Du skal stille de mudrede sko udenfor.
du
you
de
the (plural, before adjective)
skoen
the shoe
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
Questions & Answers about Du skal stille de mudrede sko udenfor.
Why is the adjective mudrede instead of just adding an -e to make mudrete?
The dictionary form of the adjective is mudret (muddy). In Danish, adjectives that end in -et have a special rule for their definite and plural forms: instead of just adding an -e, the -t changes to -de. This makes the word easier to pronounce and gives us mudrede. It is in the definite form here because it follows the definite article de.
Why is "put" translated as stille here instead of lægge or putte?
English uses a generic "put," but Danish requires a specific positional verb based on how the object rests. You use lægge for laying things flat, and stille for standing things upright. Because shoes rest on their soles in a "standing" position, you use stille. You should avoid putte, which is generally only used for putting things inside a container or tucking someone into bed.
Why does the sentence use de ... sko for "the shoes" instead of the suffix form skoene?
This is a good reminder of the "adjective rule" for definite nouns. When a noun stands alone, "the shoes" is skoene. But the moment you put an adjective (like mudrede) in front of the noun, Danish drops the -ene suffix and forces you to use a free-standing definite article in front of the phrase. Since "shoes" is plural, that article is de.
Could I use ud instead of udenfor in this sentence?