Word
Politikeren taler ofte med medierne.
Meaning
The politician often talks to the media.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Politikeren taler ofte med medierne.
tale
to speak
ofte
often
med
with; by (bus, train) / of, to (the meaning or point of something)
politikeren
the politician
Questions & Answers about Politikeren taler ofte med medierne.
Why does the sentence use med when the English translation says "talks to"?
In Danish, the verb at tale (to talk/speak) is almost always paired with the preposition med (with) when referring to a conversation. While English speakers often say "talk to", Danish speakers say "talk with" (tale med).
Why is the adverb ofte placed after the verb taler?
In a standard Danish main clause, the verb must be the second element (the V2 rule). Central adverbs like ofte (often) usually come immediately after the verb. If you started the sentence with Ofte for emphasis, the verb would still have to come second, forcing the subject to move: Ofte taler politikeren med medierne.
The word politiker already ends in -er. How is the definite form ("the politician") constructed here?
For most nouns denoting professions or people that end in -er, you simply add the standard common gender definite suffix -en to the very end. You do not drop the -er. Therefore, en politiker becomes politikeren.
What is the base form of medierne, and how do we build this definite plural?
The base form is the neuter noun et medie (a medium/media). To make it plural, you add -r to get medier (media). To make it definite plural ("the media"), you add the standard ending -ne, resulting in medierne.