Turen til byen var rolig og hyggelig.

The trip to the city was calm and cozy.

Breakdown of Turen til byen var rolig og hyggelig.

• og: and
• være: to be
• til: to
• byen: the city
• rolig: calm
• turen: the trip
• hyggelig: cozy

Questions & Answers about Turen til byen var rolig og hyggelig.

Why does the sentence start with Turen instead of En tur?

In Danish, adding -en (or -et for neuter nouns) to the end of a noun makes it definite, which is like using the in English. So Turen means the trip. If you said En tur, it would just mean a trip without being specific.

Why is it til byen and not i byen?

Til means to a location, showing movement toward a place, whereas i can mean in or inside a place. Til byen suggests traveling to the city (destination), while i byen would mean in/inside the city (location).

What does var mean and why is it used here?

Var is the past tense of er (to be) in Danish, just like was is the past tense of is in English. It is used to describe a state or condition in the past—here, describing how the trip was calm and pleasant.

Can you explain rolig and hyggelig?

Rolig translates to calm or quiet. Hyggelig is very Danish and often means cozy, pleasant, or nice. It can refer to a comfortable or friendly atmosphere, which is an important cultural concept in Denmark.

Is the word order always Turen til byen var rolig og hyggelig, or can we place til byen elsewhere?

Danish typically keeps the subject (Turen) before the verb (var). Til byen is a prepositional phrase describing where the trip was going, so it usually follows the subject. While there can be some flexibility, e.g., Til byen var turen rolig og hyggelig, standard word order is usually more natural in everyday speech.