Breakdown of På den ene side er udlandet spændende, på den anden side savner jeg altid hjemlandet.
jeg
I
være
to be
savne
to miss
altid
always
spændende
exciting
på den ene side
on the one hand
på den anden side
on the other hand (balancing arguments)
udlandet
abroad; foreign countries
hjemlandet
the home country
Questions & Answers about På den ene side er udlandet spændende, på den anden side savner jeg altid hjemlandet.
Why are the verb and subject inverted in both halves of the sentence (er udlandet and savner jeg)?
The paired phrases på den ene side and på den anden side act as adverbials at the beginning of their respective main clauses. Whenever a Danish main clause starts with something other than the subject, the V2 rule forces the verb into the second position, causing the verb and subject to swap places.
Since the second clause is inverted, why does altid come directly after jeg?
In a Danish main clause, sentence adverbs like altid (always) normally follow the subject. Because the V2 rule pushed the subject (jeg) after the verb (savner), altid simply slides down to follow the subject in its new position, creating the pattern: fronted phrase -> verb -> subject -> adverb.
Why does en (one) get an -e added to it in den ene side?
When the number en (one) is preceded by the front article den (the), it behaves grammatically like an adjective in a definite noun phrase. Therefore, it must take the definite -e ending, becoming ene.
Is udlandet the normal way to say "abroad" in Danish?
Yes! While it literally translates to "the out-country" or "the foreign country", udlandet is the standard noun Danes use for "abroad" or "foreign countries" in general. In this sentence, it sets up a nice structural contrast with hjemlandet (the home country).
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