Jeg ser en fjern stjerne på himlen.

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Breakdown of Jeg ser en fjern stjerne på himlen.

• en: a
• se: to see
• himlen: the sky
• stjernen: the star
• fjern: distant

Questions & Answers about Jeg ser en fjern stjerne på himlen.

Why do we use på with himlen here instead of using something like i himlen?

In Danish, på himlen is the standard way to say in the sky. You might be tempted to use i (meaning in) because that's how you say it in English, but Danish typically uses på when referring to something visible in the sky or on a surface (like på jorden for on the earth). Using i himlen would sound unusual in this context.

What does fjern mean, and could I use other words like langt?

Fjern means distant or far away in a more abstract sense. You might see similar words like langt, particularly in expressions describing physical distance (e.g., det er langt væk – it’s far away). But fjern often conveys a sense of remote or distant in a more poetic manner.

Why is the article en used before fjern stjerne?

Stjerne is a common-gender noun in Danish, so it takes en as the indefinite article. If you wanted to say the distant star, you would change it to den fjerne stjerne. The indefinite article en parallels using a in English (e.g., a distant star).

Can I change the word order to something like Jeg ser på himlen en fjern stjerne?

While Danish does allow some flexibility in word order, Jeg ser en fjern stjerne på himlen is the most natural and common structure. Placing på himlen earlier is grammatically possible but would sound more poetic or stylized, which is less typical in everyday speech.