Jeg smider maden ud, hvis den er gammel.

I throw out the food if it is old.

Breakdown of Jeg smider maden ud, hvis den er gammel.

• jeg: I
• være: to be
• gammel: old
• maden: the food
• den: it
• hvis: if
• smide ud: to throw out

Questions & Answers about Jeg smider maden ud, hvis den er gammel.

What does smider ud mean, and why is the particle ud separated from the verb?

Smider ud is a separable verb in Danish that means "throw out" or "discard". In Danish, it’s common for particles like ud (meaning "out") to be placed at the end of the sentence in the present tense, even though the verb core smider remains closer to the subject.

Why is there a comma before hvis in this sentence?

In Danish, subordinate clauses—such as conditionals introduced by hvis (which means "if")—are typically separated from the main clause with a comma. This punctuation helps clarify the structure and indicate that what follows is a dependent condition.

What role does hvis play in the sentence?

Hvis translates to "if" and introduces the conditional clause. It sets the condition under which the main action (throwing out the food) will occur. That is, the food is thrown out if it is old.

Why is the noun written as maden with the ending -en?

In Danish, definite articles are added to the end of the noun. Here, mad means "food", and by adding -en, it becomes maden, which translates to "the food". This is the standard way of forming the definite version of many Danish nouns.

Why is the pronoun den used in hvis den er gammel, and what does it refer to?

The pronoun den is used to refer back to maden. In Danish, den is the singular common gender pronoun equivalent to "it" in English. It ensures that the sentence maintains cohesion by linking the condition directly to the food mentioned earlier.

Why is the adjective kept as gammel instead of being inflected to something like gamle in the clause hvis den er gammel?

In Danish, adjectives used in predicate constructions—that is, when they follow a linking verb like er (is)—remain in their base form without inflection. Even though maden is definite in the main clause, the adjective in a predicate complement is not adjusted, so gammel stays uninflected.