Katten ser den søde fugl i haven.

the cat

Breakdown of Katten ser den søde fugl i haven.

• i: in
• haven: the garden
• se: to see
• fuglen: the bird
• den: the
• sød: sweet

Questions & Answers about Katten ser den søde fugl i haven.

Why is it den søde fugl instead of fuglen in this sentence?

In Danish, when you have an adjective in front of a definite noun, you use den (or det, or de for plural), then the adjective, and then the noun in its base form. For instance:
• fuglen = the bird (without an adjective)
• den søde fugl = the sweet bird (with an adjective)

What’s the difference between Katten and En kat here?

Katten means the cat (definite form), while en kat means a cat (indefinite form). Since the sentence refers to a specific cat, it uses the definite form katten.

Why do we say Katten ser den søde fugl and not Katten ser på den søde fugl?

In Danish, se generally means to see something, and we don’t need a preposition unless we specifically want to say look at. For instance,
• Katten ser den søde fugl = The cat sees the sweet bird.
• Katten kigger på den søde fugl = The cat looks at the sweet bird.

Why is it i haven and not på haven?

In Danish, i is typically used for enclosed or defined spaces like rooms, towns, or gardens, so we say i haven (in the garden). The preposition på is used more for open areas, islands, or certain idiomatic expressions.

Why does søde end with an -e here?

When an adjective modifies a definite singular noun introduced by den, det, or de (in plural), the adjective takes the so-called definite or inflected form, which often ends in -e. So we get:
• en sød fugl = a sweet bird
• den søde fugl = the sweet bird