Vinduet er åbent, men rummet er varmt.

The window is open, but the room is warm.

Breakdown of Vinduet er åbent, men rummet er varmt.

• være: to be
• men: but
• varm: warm
• rummet: the room
• vinduet: the window
• åben: open

Questions & Answers about Vinduet er åbent, men rummet er varmt.

Why does the sentence use Vinduet instead of Vindue?

Vinduet is the definite form of the noun. In Danish, nouns typically have an -et or -en ending to form the definite article. Since vindue (window) is a neuter noun, its definite form is vinduet.

Why is er repeated twice in the sentence?

Er is simply the Danish form of the verb to be. It is used for both subjects (like “vinduet” and “rummet”) regardless of number or person in this context. In English, you might have “is” or “are,” but Danish uses er for all present tense forms.

Why is the adjective åbent spelled with a 't' at the end?

In Danish, a singular neuter noun in the definite form takes a t-ending on a predicative adjective. Because vinduet is neuter, you say vinduet er åbent (“the window is open”). If the noun were common gender (like “dør” – “door”), you would usually say døren er åben instead.

Why is the adjective varmt also spelled with a 't'?

For the same reason as åbent. Rummet (“the room”) is also a neuter noun, so when it’s the subject of the sentence and an adjective describes it in a predicative way, the adjective adds t at the end. Hence rummet er varmt (“the room is warm”) rather than rummet er varm.

Why use men in the sentence instead of og?

Men means but, which introduces a contrast. The window is open (which you might expect to cool the space), but the room remains warm. If you used og (“and”), it would just connect two facts without indicating a contrast.