Learn Danish: Hvad oplevede I i Spanien? - What did you experience in Spain?

The first I is the plural 'you' (meaning 'you all' or 'you guys'). The second i is the preposition 'in'. Because both are pronounced like the English 'ee', speaking this sentence out loud sounds like a slightly drawn-out 'ee' or two quick 'ee' sounds in a row.

Is the capital I related to the English word 'I'?

No, it is a false friend! The capitalized I in Danish means 'you' (plural). It is always capitalized so it doesn't get confused with the lowercase i (in). If you wanted to say 'What did I experience?', you would use jeg: Hvad oplevede jeg i Spanien?

Is opleve the standard word for 'experience' in Danish?

Yes, at opleve is the most common way to talk about experiencing an event, a trip, or a feeling. Danes use it a lot to ask about vacations. You might also encounter the verb at erfare, but that means 'to experience' in the sense of learning a fact or gaining knowledge.

Why does the verb oplevede come before the subject I?

This happens because of the Danish V2 rule, which dictates that the main verb must be the second piece of information in the sentence. Since the question word Hvad takes up the first position, the verb oplevede jumps into the second position, pushing the subject I into the third spot.