Jeg ser katten, og den er sulten.

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Breakdown of Jeg ser katten, og den er sulten.

• og: and
• katten: the cat
• se: to see
• være: to be
• sulten: hungry
• den: it

Questions & Answers about Jeg ser katten, og den er sulten.

Why is the word katten used instead of en kat?

Danish uses the definite form katten when referring to a specific cat already identified in context. If you’re just introducing a cat for the first time, you’d use the indefinite form en kat.

What is the function of den in the sentence?

The word den is a pronoun referring back to the common-gender noun katten. In Danish, you use den for common-gender words (like kat, which is an en word) and det for neuter words.

Why does the sentence have og?

In Danish, og means and, just like in English. It connects two independent clauses: “Jeg ser katten” (I see the cat) and “den er sulten” (it is hungry).

Why is ser used, and not kigger på?

Ser simply means see, emphasizing perception. Kigger på (look at) focuses on actively looking at something. Both can be correct, but ser keeps it straightforward: you notice the cat visually.

Is there any special word order rule here?

Danish follows a Subject–Verb–Object pattern in the main clause, as in Jeg ser katten. In the second clause, den er sulten, it’s again Subject–Verb–Complement. The conjunction og doesn’t change the word order.