Mine sko står ved døren, men mine støvler gemmer jeg i skabet til vinteren.

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Breakdown of Mine sko står ved døren, men mine støvler gemmer jeg i skabet til vinteren.

• i: in
• men: but
• vinteren: the winter
• stå: to stand
• døren: the door
• ved: by
• mit: my
• til: for
• skoen: the shoe
• støvlen: the boot
• gemme: to keep
• skabet: the closet

Questions & Answers about Mine sko står ved døren, men mine støvler gemmer jeg i skabet til vinteren.

Why does the second clause use the order "mine støvler gemmer jeg" instead of the typical subject–verb–object order we expect in English?

Danish often employs inversion in sentences for emphasis or contrast. In this case, the object mine støvler (“my boots”) is fronted, so the subject jeg (“I”) follows the verb gemmer (“store”). This structure highlights the boots and contrasts their storage with the placement of the shoes in the first clause.

What does the verb gemmer mean, and how is it correctly conjugated in this sentence?

The verb gemmer is the present tense form of at gemme, which means “to store” or “to save.” Even though jeg (I) appears after the verb due to inversion, gemmer is properly conjugated for the first person singular. The inversion is a stylistic choice that emphasizes the object rather than altering the grammatical agreement.

Why do some nouns in the sentence have attached endings—as seen in døren, skabet, and vinteren—while others like sko and støvler remain separate?

In Danish, the definite article is typically attached to the noun as a suffix. For example, dør becomes døren (the door), skab becomes skabet (the cabinet), and vinter becomes vinteren (the winter). In contrast, when a noun is preceded by a possessive like mine (my), the possessive replaces the need for an attached definite article, so sko and støvler remain unchanged.

What is the function of the phrase til vinteren in the sentence?

The phrase til vinteren is an adverbial expression indicating the time frame for the action, meaning “for the winter.” It specifies that the boots are to be stored in the cabinet for use during the winter season, providing additional context to the timing of the action.

Why is there a comma before men in the sentence, and does its usage differ from English punctuation rules?

The comma before men (“but”) serves to separate two independent clauses, similar to how commas are used in English. Although Danish punctuation rules can differ in certain respects, in this sentence the comma is used to signal a pause and clearly divide the contrasting statements about the shoes and the boots.