Breakdown of Manden truede ekspedienten med en kniv.
manden
the man
en
a / an (common)
med
with; by (bus, train) / of, to (the meaning or point of something)
kniven
the knife
ekspedienten
the shop assistant
true
to threaten
Questions & Answers about Manden truede ekspedienten med en kniv.
Why does the past tense verb truede have two E's?
The infinitive form is at true (to threaten). Because it is a regular weak verb, it forms the past tense by adding the standard ending -ede to the stem, resulting in truede.
Is ekspedient the standard word for any retail worker?
Yes, en ekspedient is a very common and gender-neutral term for a shop assistant or clerk who serves customers. You might also hear en kassedame or en kasseassistent specifically for someone working the cash register, but ekspedient covers the general role.
If I want to emphasize the weapon and start the sentence with Med en kniv, what happens to the word order?
Danish strictly follows the V2 rule, meaning the verb must be the second element in a main clause. If you move Med en kniv to the front, the subject and verb swap places: Med en kniv truede manden ekspedienten.
How would I say "The man threatened to use a knife" instead of just "threatened the shop assistant"?
When you want to say "threaten to" do an action, you must add the preposition med before the infinitive. You would say: Manden truede med at bruge en kniv.
Learn Manden truede ekspedienten med en kniv and more in Danish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free