Questions & Answers about I begyndelsen var det svært at forstå dansk.
Why is the word order var det instead of det var?
Danish follows the V2 (verb-second) rule, meaning the main verb must always be the second block of information in a sentence. Because this sentence starts with the phrase I begyndelsen, the verb var must come next, pushing the subject det into the third position.
Why is svært spelled with a -t at the end?
The adjective describes the pronoun det (it). Because det is a neuter word, the adjective svær (hard or difficult) must add a -t to match it, becoming svært.
Could I say På begyndelsen instead of I begyndelsen?
No, i begyndelsen is a fixed phrase meaning "in the beginning" or "at first". While Danish prepositions can be tricky, it helps to remember that begyndelsen (the beginning) and slutningen (the end) almost always take the preposition i.
Why is dansk written with a lowercase letter?
Unlike English, Danish does not capitalize languages, nationalities, or days of the week. Therefore, "Danish" is simply written with a lowercase letter as dansk.