Breakdown of På gården kan børnene se dyrene.
barnet
the child
se
to see / to look at
kunne
to be able to / can
på
on / at / in (a language) / of (after nouns like end or start)
Questions & Answers about På gården kan børnene se dyrene.
Why is the verb kan before the subject børnene?
This happens because of the Danish V2 rule. Whenever a sentence starts with a phrase like the location På gården, the verb must come exactly second. This pushes the subject børnene to the other side of the verb.
Why do we say på gården instead of i gården?
In Danish, farms take the preposition på (on) rather than i (in). You will always say på en gård (on a farm) and på gården (on the farm).
How do we get the ending -ene on the word børnene?
The word for a child is et barn, and its plural is the irregular word børn (children). To make it definite (the children), you add the definite plural suffix -ene, resulting in børnene.
Does dyrene follow the same grammar rule as børnene?
Yes. The word for an animal is et dyr. Because it is a neuter noun (an et-word), the indefinite plural is just dyr (animals). Adding the definite plural ending -ene gives you dyrene (the animals).