Breakdown of Jeg har vagt i weekenden.
jeg
I
i
in
have
to have
weekenden
the weekend
vagten
the shift (at work)
Questions & Answers about Jeg har vagt i weekenden.
Why is there no article before vagt? Shouldn't it be Jeg har en vagt since the English translation is "I have a shift"?
In Danish, when you talk about being on duty as a general state, you usually drop the indefinite article. At have vagt is a fixed phrase meaning "to be on duty" or "to have a shift." If you were emphasizing one specific scheduled block among others, you could say Jeg har en vagt, but dropping the article is the most natural way to express that you are working.
Why does the sentence use i weekenden to mean "this weekend" instead of a word for "this" like denne?
Danish rarely uses denne (this) with parts of the week to mean the upcoming one. Instead, you use the preposition i plus the definite form of the noun. Because the verb har establishes a present or future context, i weekenden naturally means "this weekend." If the verb were in the past tense, the exact same phrase would mean "last weekend."
Does vagt always mean "shift"? I've seen it used to mean "guard."
It means both! The word vagt can refer to a person (a guard), the act of guarding, or a period of time on duty (a shift). In the context of healthcare, retail, or hospitality, it almost always means "shift." You will often see it in compound words like nattevagt (night shift) or aftenvagt (evening shift).
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