Breakdown of Hun møder sin chef på stationen, fordi de skal til samme møde.
til
to
hun
she
fordi
because
mødet
the meeting
på
at
møde
to meet
de
they
sin
her
chefen
the boss
stationen
the station
skulle
to be going to
samme
same
Questions & Answers about Hun møder sin chef på stationen, fordi de skal til samme møde.
Why is it sin and not hendes in Hun møder sin chef?
Sin/sit/sine is the reflexive 3rd‑person possessive that refers back to the subject of the same clause. Here, the subject is Hun (she), so sin chef means “her own boss.”
Using hendes would point to another woman’s boss, not her own.
- Correct here: Hun møder sin chef = She meets her own boss.
- Different meaning: Hun møder hendes chef = She meets another woman’s boss.
Would Hun møder hendes chef ever be correct?
Yes, but only if hendes refers to a different woman previously mentioned. For example: Maria er syg. Hun møder hendes chef = Maria is sick. She (someone else) meets Maria’s boss.
What does de refer to, and why not dem?
De is the subject pronoun “they,” referring to “she and her boss” together. Dem is the object form (“them”) and can’t be used as the subject of the clause.
- Subject: De skal til samme møde.
- Object: Jeg ser dem.
Why is it på stationen and not i or ved?
- på stationen = “at the station” as a general location (institution/place you go to). Very idiomatic with places like school, work, hospital, station.
- i stationen = “inside the station” (emphasizes being physically inside the building).
- ved stationen = “by/near the station” (in the vicinity, outside or nearby).
Why is stationen in the definite form without a separate word for “the”?
Danish marks definiteness with a suffix.
- Indefinite: en station
- Definite: stationen (“the station”)
There is no separate “the”; it’s attached to the noun.
Why is there no article before samme in til samme møde?
With a following noun, samme normally takes no article: samme møde, samme hus.
Use det samme only when it stands alone or acts more pronominally:
- Vi skal til samme møde.
- Vi skal til det samme (meeting implied).
Why is the preposition til used in til samme møde?
Danish often uses til with events/appointments: til møde, til koncert, til lægen, til eksamen. It corresponds to English “to” in “go to a meeting.”
Is there a difference between møder, mødes, and mødes med?
- møder (active): “meets” (can be arranged or by chance).
- mødes (reciprocal, passive ending -s): “meet each other,” usually arranged.
- mødes med + person: also “meet up with,” explicitly reciprocal/arranged.
Here, Hun møder sin chef can suggest running into the boss, which fits the reason clause.
Aren’t møder and møde the same word?
They’re different:
- møder is the present tense of the verb at møde (“to meet”).
- møde is a noun (“a meeting”).
So the sentence contains both the verb and the noun with related meanings.
Why is it fordi de skal and not fordi skal de?
In Danish, main clauses are V2 (the finite verb is in second position), but subordinate clauses are not. After a subordinating conjunction like fordi, the order is Subject + Finite Verb: fordi de skal …, not fordi skal de ….
Where would ikke go if I wanted to negate the reason?
In a subordinate clause, sentence adverbs like ikke go before the finite verb:
- …, fordi de ikke skal til samme møde.
In a main clause, ikke typically comes after the finite verb: - Hun møder ikke sin chef …
Can I front the reason clause?
Yes. If you start with the subordinate clause, the following main clause must still obey V2 word order:
- Fordi de skal til samme møde, møder hun sin chef på stationen.
Note how møder comes before hun.
Does skal here mean “must” or “are going to”?
It can express obligation, but very often it marks a scheduled or planned future. In de skal til samme møde, it means “they’re going to/are due to attend the same meeting,” not necessarily “they must.”
Could I use for instead of fordi?
Sometimes. For is a coordinating conjunction (“for/because”), linking two main clauses and giving an explanation:
- Hun møder sin chef på stationen, for de skal til samme møde.
You can’t front a for-clause, and fordi is the default for causal subordinate clauses.
Is på banegården possible instead of på stationen?
Yes. Banegården is specifically the railway station. Stationen can be more general (train/metro/bus context), and in many contexts it will be understood as the local train/metro station. Use whichever is appropriate to the context.
Any quick pronunciation tips for key words?
- møder/møde: ø is a rounded front vowel; d is often soft like the English “th” in “the” between vowels: [mø-ðɐ]/[mø-ðə].
- chef: initial sound like English “sh”: [ʃeːf].
- stationen: the -tion- is pronounced like “shyohn”: roughly [sta-ʃoː-nən].
- de: usually [di].
- til: [til].
- samme: final -e is a schwa: [ˈsamə].
Why hun and not hende?
Hun is the subject form (“she”); hende is the object form (“her”). Since she is the subject of the clause (Hun møder …), hun is required.
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