Jeg får nye færdigheder ved at øve mig hver dag.

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Breakdown of Jeg får nye færdigheder ved at øve mig hver dag.

• hver: every
• dagen: the day
• at: to
• ved: by
• ny: new
• mig: myself
• øve: to practice
• færdigheden: the skill

Questions & Answers about Jeg får nye færdigheder ved at øve mig hver dag.

Why is får used in this sentence instead of a verb like har or opnår?

In Danish, får generally means to get or to receive. It emphasizes the act of obtaining something—here, it's metaphorical for gaining new skills. Whereas har means have (already possess) and opnår means achieve (often used for more significant or conclusive achievements), får fits best for acquiring something gradually, like nye færdigheder (new skills).

What does ved at mean, and why do we use this expression?

Ved at in Danish is a phrase that indicates a means or method—in this sentence: Jeg får nye færdigheder ved at øve mig. It can be understood as meaning "by" or "through" in English. It connects the action (øve mig) to the result (får nye færdigheder), showing the method by which the speaker gains new skills.

Why do we say nye færdigheder and not something like nye færdighed?

Færdighed is singular, while færdigheder is plural. The speaker is talking about multiple or a variety of skills gained over time, hence the plural form færdigheder. If someone meant just one skill, they would say en ny færdighed.

What’s the function of mig here, and why isn’t it just øve?

In Danish, when using the verb at øve (to practice), it’s common to include a reflexive pronoun (in this case, mig) to indicate that you’re practicing something yourself or for yourself. So at øve mig is like "to practice myself," which is the idiomatic way of saying "I practice." If you only wrote øve, it could sound incomplete, as though the object of your practice wasn’t clear.