Stemningen i stuen er hyggelig, når vi lytter til musikken.

The atmosphere in the living room is cozy when we listen to the music.

Breakdown of Stemningen i stuen er hyggelig, når vi lytter til musikken.

• i: in
• være: to be
• når: when
• til: to
• vi: we
• musikken: the music
• stuen: the living room
• lytte: to listen
• hyggelig: cozy
• stemningen: the atmosphere

Questions & Answers about Stemningen i stuen er hyggelig, når vi lytter til musikken.

Why do we say stuen (definite form) instead of en stue (indefinite form)?

In Danish, you often use the definite form when you refer to a specific place that both the speaker and listener understand or share context about. Since we’re talking about the living room in a particular house, not just any living room, stuen is used.

Why is it er hyggelig and not er hyggeligt?

Hyggelig matches the common gender (en-words) and also agrees with the noun stemningen, which is an en-word in Danish. If the noun were a neuter noun (et-word), you might see a different form. But here, stemningen (en-stemning) takes the en-gender adjective form hyggelig.

Why do we use når in this sentence instead of other conjunctions like mens or fordi?

In Danish, når is used to describe a condition or a regular event that happens under certain circumstances (whenever we listen to the music, the mood is hyggelig). Mens (while) might imply simultaneous actions happening in parallel, and fordi (because) would imply a reason. The sentence focuses on the condition under which the mood is cozy, so når is appropriate.

Why is it lytter til musikken instead of lytter musikken?

In Danish, you typically say lytte til (listen to) when talking about deliberately listening. It parallels the English structure of needing a preposition: "listen to the music." Simply saying lytter musikken would be incorrect because the verb lytte requires the preposition til.

Is there a difference between using lytter til and hører?

Yes. Hører (to hear) is more about the act of perceiving sounds passively. Lytter til (to listen to) implies active attention to the sound. Here, because people are focusing on or enjoying the music, lytter til is a better choice.