Vi slukker ilden med vand.

We put out the fire with water.

Breakdown of Vi slukker ilden med vand.

• vandet: the water
• vi: we
• med: with
• slukke: to turn off

Questions & Answers about Vi slukker ilden med vand.

Why is it slukker and not slukke?

Slukke is the infinitive, the basic dictionary form, like to put out / to extinguish / to turn off.

In this sentence, the verb is finite and in the present tense, so Danish uses slukker.

• at slukke = to extinguish / to turn off
• jeg slukker = I extinguish / I am extinguishing
• vi slukker = we extinguish / we are extinguishing

A useful pattern:

• infinitive: often ends in -e
• present tense: often adds -r

So:

• slukke → slukker

Also, Danish verbs do not change for person the way English does a little. So jeg slukker, du slukker, vi slukker, de slukker all use the same present-tense form.

Does slukke only mean extinguish, or can it mean other things too?

It can mean several closely related things. The core idea is to make something stop burning, shining, or operating.

For example:

• slukke ilden = extinguish the fire
• slukke lyset = turn off the light
• slukke fjernsynet = turn off the TV

So in Danish, the same verb is used where English may use put out for a fire and turn off for an electrical device.

Why is it ilden and not just ild?