Breakdown of Jeg giver hende et smil, når hun synger så flot.
jeg
I
et
a
når
when
hun
she
så
so
hende
her
synge
to sing
give
to give
smilet
the smile
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Danish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Jeg giver hende et smil, når hun synger så flot.
Why do we use hende instead of hun in this sentence?
Hun is the subject pronoun (meaning she) and is used when she is doing the action. Hende is the object pronoun (meaning her) and is used when she is receiving the action. In this sentence, hende is the person receiving the smile, so the object form is required.
What does et smil mean, and why is et used here?
Et smil means a smile. Et is the neuter form of the Danish indefinite article (there are two indefinite articles in Danish: en for common gender and et for neuter gender). The noun smil is a neuter noun, so it takes et.
How would the sentence change if I wanted to say I give her a big smile?
You would add an adjective before smil, such as stort (meaning big). The sentence would become: Jeg giver hende et stort smil, når hun synger så flot. Remember that stort agrees with et smil, which is a neuter noun.
What is the function of når in this sentence?
Når is a conjunction meaning when in the sense of whenever something happens. It introduces a subordinate clause that indicates under which condition (her singing beautifully) the main action (giving her a smile) occurs.
What does så flot mean, and can it be replaced by another expression?
Så flot literally means so beautifully or so magnificently. It emphasizes that she sings in a very impressive way. You could replace så flot with så smukt (so beautifully) or virkelig flot (really beautifully), depending on the nuance you want.