Festens invitation er sendt til alle mine venner.

The party’s invitation is sent to all my friends.

Breakdown of Festens invitation er sendt til alle mine venner.

• være: to be
• til: to
• vennen: the friend
• alle: all
• mine: my
• festens: party's
• invitationen: the invitation
• sende: to send

Questions & Answers about Festens invitation er sendt til alle mine venner.

What is the structure of the noun phrase festens invitation?

In Danish the noun fest (meaning “party”) takes a definite ending to become festen, which translates as “the party.” When linked directly with invitation, it acts like a possessive phrase—similar to “the party’s invitation” in English—even though there’s no separate possessive marker as in English. This is a common way in Danish to show possession by simply attaching the definite article to the noun.

What does er sendt indicate in this sentence?

Er sendt is a passive construction in Danish that uses an auxiliary verb with the past participle. Here, er functions similarly to “has been” and sendt is the past participle of at sende (to send). Together, they indicate that the invitation’s sending is a completed action, essentially meaning “has been sent.”

How does the preposition til work in the sentence?

The preposition til translates directly as “to” in English. It introduces the recipient of the action, which in this case is alle mine venner (“all my friends”). This preposition connects the action (sending the invitation) to who it was sent.

Why is mine used in alle mine venner instead of min?

In Danish, possessive adjectives must agree in number with the nouns they modify. Since venner (friends) is plural, the plural form mine (“my”) is required rather than min which would be used with singular nouns. Hence, alle mine venner successfully translates to “all my friends.”

Is there a passive voice in this sentence, and if so, how is it formed?

Yes, the sentence uses the passive voice. In Danish, the passive is often formed by combining the auxiliary verb er with the past participle of the main verb—in this case, sendt (sent). This construction emphasizes the action (the sending of the invitation) and the recipient of that action rather than the agent who performed it.