Telefonen bruges ofte til at oversætte svære ord.

The phone is often used to translate difficult words.

Breakdown of Telefonen bruges ofte til at oversætte svære ord.

• til: to
• at: to
• ofte: often
• svær: difficult
• telefonen: the phone
• bruges: to be used
• oversætte: to translate
• ordet: the word

Questions & Answers about Telefonen bruges ofte til at oversætte svære ord.

Why does the sentence use bruges (with an –s ending) instead of bruger?

In Danish, adding –s to a verb often signals the passive voice. So bruges is the passive form of bruge (to use), meaning that the phone (telefonen) is on the receiving end of the action.

What role does til at oversætte play in this sentence?

The phrase til at oversætte shows the purpose of using the phone. In Danish, til followed by at + infinitive indicates what something is intended for or how it is used.

Why is svære ord in plural form if ord looks identical in singular and plural?

In Danish, the noun ord (word) is the same in singular and plural. However, you can see it's plural here because the adjective is svære, which is the plural form of svær (difficult). This combination means difficult words rather than a difficult word.

Can the sentence be rephrased to avoid the passive voice?

Yes. A possible active version would be something like Man bruger ofte telefonen til at oversætte svære ord, which literally translates to One often uses the phone to translate difficult words. Both forms are correct in Danish, but the passive voice places the phone as the subject.