Breakdown of Klimaet har ændret sig meget i de senere år.
have
to have
meget
very; much, a lot
sig
oneself / himself / herself / themselves
ændre
to change
Questions & Answers about Klimaet har ændret sig meget i de senere år.
Why do we need sig here? Can't I just say Klimaet har ændret meget?
In Danish, the verb ændre (to change) needs an object. If someone changes something else, you provide that object (e.g., han ændrede planen - he changed the plan). When a subject undergoes a change itself, as the climate does here, the verb becomes reflexive: ændre sig. Without sig, the sentence feels incomplete, as if the climate changed something else but you forgot to say what.
Why is senere used to mean "recent" in i de senere år? Doesn't it mean "later"?
While senere literally translates to "later", the fixed phrase i de senere år is the standard Danish way to say "in recent years". It uses the comparative form to mean "rather late" or "closer to now". It is an idiomatic phrasing you simply have to memorize instead of looking for a direct translation like nylige.
Why does it say de senere år with the definite plural article de, when English just says "recent years" without "the"?
Danish often requires the definite plural article de before an adjective and noun when referring to specific time periods leading up to the present. While English leaves it indefinite ("in recent years"), Danish treats this era as a specific, defined block of time: literally "in the later years".
Could I move i de senere år to the beginning of the sentence?