Jeg er forelsket.

I

Breakdown of Jeg er forelsket.

• være: to be
• forelsket: in love

Questions & Answers about Jeg er forelsket.

Why is it er in Jeg er forelsket?

Because er is the present tense of at være — to be.

So the structure is:

• jeg = I
• er = am
• forelsket = in love / smitten

This is the same basic pattern as English I am happy, I am tired, etc. Danish often uses to be + adjective/participle in this kind of sentence.

What kind of word is forelsket?

In this sentence, forelsket functions like an adjective.

It originally comes from the verb at forelske sig — to fall in love, but in Jeg er forelsket, it behaves like a description of a state:

• Jeg er forelsket = I am in love

So for a learner, the easiest way to think of it is: forelsket is describing how the speaker is feeling.

How is Jeg er forelsket different from Jeg elsker dig?