Breakdown of Min bedstefar holdt meget af sin hund.
hunden
the dog
min
my
sin
his/her/its own (common)
meget
very; much, a lot
Questions & Answers about Min bedstefar holdt meget af sin hund.
Why is it sin hund and not hans hund?
In Danish, you use sin, sit, or sine when the subject of the clause owns the object. Since the grandfather (the subject) owns the dog, we use sin. If we used hans, it would mean he was fond of someone else's dog!
What does holdt af mean here? Doesn't holde usually mean to hold or stop?
On its own, holde does mean to hold or to stop. However, when combined with the preposition af, it creates the phrase at holde af, which means to be fond of, to care for, or to like. The past tense is holdt af.
Why is meget placed between holdt and af?
In Danish, when an adverb like meget (very/much) modifies a phrasal verb, it usually splits the verb and its preposition. So instead of putting it at the end like in English, it goes right after the main verb: holdt meget af.
I usually see farfar or morfar for grandfather. Is bedstefar common?
Yes! While Danish is famous for specifying paternal (farfar) or maternal (morfar) grandparents, the general word bedstefar is completely normal. It is used when the specific side of the family does not matter for the context.