Breakdown of Den fremmede spurgte mig om vejen.
vejen
the road / the way (route to somewhere)
mig
me
spørge
to ask
om
about (concerning)
den fremmede
the stranger
Questions & Answers about Den fremmede spurgte mig om vejen.
Why is fremmede used as a noun here, and why does it end in -e?
Fremmed is actually an adjective meaning "foreign" or "strange." In Danish, you can turn an adjective into a person by putting a definite article in front of it, like den. Because it comes after the definite article den, the adjective gets the definite -e ending, creating den fremmede (the stranger).
Why do we need the preposition om in this sentence?
In English, you can simply "ask someone the way," but Danish requires a preposition. The verb spørge (to ask) is almost always followed by om when you are asking for information about something. So, spurgte mig om vejen literally translates to "asked me about the way."
Does vejen just mean a physical road here?
While vejen literally means "the way" or "the road," the full phrase spørge om vejen is the standard, idiomatic Danish expression for "asking for directions."
What is the infinitive of spurgte?
The infinitive is at spørge (to ask). It is an irregular verb, which is why the vowel changes from ø in the present and infinitive to u in the past tense (spurgte).
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