Breakdown of Han er bare en almindelig mand.
være
to be
han
he
manden
the man
en
a / an (common)
bare
just, only
almindelig
ordinary, common
Questions & Answers about Han er bare en almindelig mand.
Could I use kun instead of bare in this sentence?
You should stick to bare here. While both can translate to 'just' or 'only', kun is mostly used for strict limits or amounts (like 'only one man'). bare is used more like 'simply' to describe a situation, exactly like saying 'He is just an ordinary man' in English.
Why is the adjective almindelig written without any ending here?
Because it describes en mand, which is a singular common gender word (an en-word). In Danish, adjectives keep their base form for singular en-words. If it described an et-word, you would add a -t (et almindeligt hus), and if it were plural, you would add an -e (almindelige mænd).
Does almindelig have other meanings besides 'ordinary'?
Yes, it is a very useful word that can also mean 'common', 'regular', or 'usual'. For example, if you want to talk about a 'regular day' or 'normal day' in Danish, you would call it en almindelig dag.
Why does bare come right after the verb er?
In simple Danish main sentences, short adverbs like bare, ikke, or ofte usually stand immediately after the first verb. So the word order rule here is Subject (Han) + Verb (er) + Adverb (bare).
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