Breakdown of Vi spurgte tilfældige mennesker på gaden.
vi
we
spørge
to ask
på
on / at / in (a language) / of (after nouns like end or start)
gaden
the street
mennesket
the human being, the person
tilfældig
random, chance (accidental)
Questions & Answers about Vi spurgte tilfældige mennesker på gaden.
Why does tilfældig have an -e at the end in this sentence?
Because it describes a plural noun, mennesker (people). In Danish, when an adjective describes a plural noun, you add an -e to the end of the base adjective.
Could I use folk instead of mennesker to mean "people" here?
You could, but tilfældige mennesker is the most natural way to say "random people" or "random individuals" in Danish. Folk often implies a collective group, while mennesker focuses on individual human beings.
Why do we use the preposition på here instead of i for "in the street"?
In Danish, you generally use på (on) when talking about being out on a street, road, or square. If you said i gaden, it would sound like you are physically inside the pavement itself or trapped inside an enclosed space.
I know the verb for "to ask" is spørge. Why does the spelling change so much here?
Spørge is an irregular verb. In the past tense, the stem vowel changes from ø to u, giving us spurgte. It is a very common word, so this irregular form is just one you have to memorize.
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