Breakdown of Hans far var læge, og han blev ligeledes læge.
være
to be
han
he
og
and
lægen
the doctor
faren
the father
hans
his
blive
to stay / to become
ligeledes
likewise, similarly
Questions & Answers about Hans far var læge, og han blev ligeledes læge.
Why is there no en before læge in either part of the sentence?
In Danish, you drop the indefinite article (en or et) when stating someone's profession, nationality, or religious affiliation, as long as the noun isn't modified by an adjective. If the sentence said he became a good doctor, you would need the article: han blev en god læge.
Why does the sentence start with Hans far instead of Sin far?
Sin (and its forms sit and sine) is a reflexive possessive pronoun, meaning it must refer back to the subject of the same clause. Because Hans far is the subject of the first clause, there is no earlier subject for it to reflect back to, so you must use the standard non-reflexive possessive Hans.
Could I just use også instead of ligeledes?
Yes, også (also) would work perfectly here and is more common in everyday speech. Ligeledes means "likewise" or "similarly" and gives the sentence a slightly more formal or written tone.
Why is the adverb ligeledes placed after the verb blev?
The conjunction og (and) links two main clauses. In a Danish main clause, central adverbs like ligeledes always come directly after the finite (conjugated) verb. If this had been a subordinate clause, the adverb would have appeared before the verb.
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