Question 1

Why is ingen used here instead of ikke nogen?

Accepted Answer

Both ingen and ikke nogen mean 'no' or 'not any'. In modern Danish, ikke nogen is often more common in casual speech, but ingen is preferred in written or slightly more formal contexts. Because there is only one verb in this sentence (har), you can safely use ingen as the object. If the sentence had a compound verb (like har haft), you would normally have to use ikke nogen.

Question 2

Could I just say Han har ikke politisk erfaring?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it is grammatically correct to leave out nogen and treat politisk erfaring as an uncountable concept. However, using ingen (or ikke nogen) puts a stronger emphasis on the absolute lack of experience, exactly like the difference between 'He has no political experience' and 'He doesn't have political experience' in English.

Question 3

Why doesn't the adjective politisk have an -e at the end after ingen?

Accepted Answer

Ingen functions like an indefinite word here. Just as you would use the basic adjective form after en, you do the same after ingen. Since erfaring is a common gender word (en erfaring), the adjective politisk takes the basic form with no added ending. If the noun were neuter, you would use intet and add a -t to the adjective.

Question 4

Both erfaring and oplevelse mean 'experience' in English. Why must we use erfaring here?

Accepted Answer

Erfaring refers to the knowledge, skills, or expertise you gain over time from doing something, such as work or politics. Oplevelse, on the other hand, refers to a specific memorable event or incident you lived through, like a concert or a scary situation. Since this sentence is about his accumulated professional skill, erfaring is the only correct choice.

Han har ingen politisk erfaring.

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