Breakdown of Forslaget fik tredive stemmer.
tredive
thirty
få
to get, to receive / to have (children)
forslaget
the suggestion
stemmen
the vote (one person's vote)
Questions & Answers about Forslaget fik tredive stemmer.
I know stemmer can also mean voices. How do we know it means votes here?
In Danish, en stemme means both a voice and a vote. The context here makes it clear, as a proposal (et forslag) receives votes, not voices. You will also see this root in the verb at stemme (to vote).
Is forslaget related to the verb at foreslå (to suggest or propose)?
Yes! Et forslag is the noun form of the verb at foreslå. Notice that the prefix in the noun is just for-, whereas the verb usually has an extra -e- (fore-). The suffix -et here makes it a definite noun, meaning the proposal.
How is tredive actually pronounced in everyday speech compared to its spelling?
The spelling of tredive does not match its modern pronunciation, which still trips up many learners. In natural speech, it sounds closer to tra-ve with a soft Danish D. The middle syllables slur into a soft, breathy sound and the v is usually completely silent.
In English, we might say a proposal won or secured votes. Is få the most natural verb here?
Yes, at få (here in the past tense, fik) is the standard verb used in Danish for getting or receiving votes. While you could use a slightly more formal verb like modtog, which means received, fik is by far the most common and natural choice in political or voting contexts.