Efter et langt telefonopkald beslutter hun at blive hjemme.

After a long phone call she decides to stay at home.

Breakdown of Efter et langt telefonopkald beslutter hun at blive hjemme.

• et: a
• at: to
• hun: she
• lang: long
• efter: after
• telefonopkaldet: the phone call
• beslutte: to decide
• blive: to stay
• hjemme: at home

Questions & Answers about Efter et langt telefonopkald beslutter hun at blive hjemme.

Why is it beslutter hun and not hun beslutter?

Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must be in second position in the sentence, no matter what comes first.

Here, Efter et langt telefonopkald is the first element (a time expression), so the verb beslutter has to be second, and the subject hun is pushed to third place:

• Efter et langt telefonopkald (1st) beslutter (2nd) hun (3rd) at blive hjemme.

If you start with the subject instead, then you can say:

• Hun beslutter at blive hjemme efter et langt telefonopkald.

Why is the article et and not en in et langt telefonopkald?

Danish has two grammatical genders: common and neuter.

• Common gender nouns use en (e.g. en dag, en telefon).
• Neuter gender nouns use et (e.g. et hus, et opkald).

The word telefonopkald is neuter because its last part opkald is neuter. For that reason, the correct indefinite article is et: et telefonopkald.

Why is the adjective langt and not lang?

Adjectives agree with the gender and number of the noun.

• With a common gender singular noun: en lang dag (a long day).
• With a neuter singular noun: et langt opkald (a long call).

Since telefonopkald is neuter and indefinite singular, the adjective takes a -t: et langt telefonopkald.
If it were definite, it would be: det lange telefonopkald (the long phone call).

Why is telefonopkald written as one word and not telefon opkald?

Danish normally writes compound nouns as one word.

• telefon
  • opkald → telefonopkald (phone call)
• sommer
  • ferie → sommerferie (summer holiday)

The last part of the compound (opkald) decides the gender and many grammatical properties, which is why it is et telefonopkald, not en telefonopkald.

Can I put efter et langt telefonopkald at the end of the sentence instead?

Yes, that’s possible and common. For example:

• Hun beslutter at blive hjemme efter et langt telefonopkald.

Here, the sentence starts with the subject hun, so word order is:

• Hun (1st) beslutter (2nd) at blive hjemme efter et langt telefonopkald (rest).

Both versions are grammatically correct.
Putting Efter et langt telefonopkald first slightly emphasizes the time or cause; putting it last sounds a bit more neutral.

What is the role of at in beslutter hun at blive hjemme?

at is the infinitive marker in Danish, roughly like to before a verb in English.

• beslutter at blive = “decides to stay”
• prøver at ringe = “tries to call”

Some verbs (especially modal-like verbs such as kan, vil, skal) are followed by an infinitive without at, but beslutte normally takes at before the next verb.

Why is it at blive hjemme and not at være hjemme?

In Danish, blive can mean to stay / to remain, as well as to become.
blive hjemme = stay at home (choose not to go out).

• Hun beslutter at blive hjemme.
  She decides to stay home.

være hjemme describes just the state of being at home:

• Hun er hjemme. – She is at home.

In the sentence you gave, she is making a decision to stay, so blive hjemme is the natural choice.

What’s the difference between blive hjemme and tage hjem?

• blive hjemme = stay at home (you are at home and decide not to go out / not to leave).
• tage hjem = go home (you are somewhere else and go in the direction of home).

Examples:

• Hun er træt og beslutter at blive hjemme.
  She is tired and decides to stay home (not go out).
• Hun er på arbejde og beslutter at tage hjem.
  She is at work and decides to go home.

Why is it hjemme and not hjem after blive?

Danish distinguishes between:

• hjem (direction, “homeward”)
  Used with movement: gå hjem, køre hjem, tage hjem.
• hjemme (location, “at home”)
  Used with being or staying somewhere: være hjemme, blive hjemme.

Since blive here means stay / remain, it describes a location, so you say blive hjemme, not blive hjem.

Could I also say Hun beslutter sig for at blive hjemme? Is there a difference?

Yes, that is also correct:

• Hun beslutter at blive hjemme.
• Hun beslutter sig for at blive hjemme.

Both mean that she decides to stay home.
beslutte without a reflexive pronoun is a bit more direct and neutral.
beslutte sig (for) is slightly more idiomatic and can feel a bit more like “make up one’s mind (to)”, but in everyday speech the difference in meaning is minimal.

How would the phrase look in the definite form, e.g. “after the long phone call”?

Then both the article and the adjective change:

• Indefinite: et langt telefonopkald – a long phone call
• Definite: det lange telefonopkald – the long phone call

So the whole sentence becomes:

• Efter det lange telefonopkald beslutter hun at blive hjemme.
  After the long phone call, she decides to stay home.

Does the same word order rule apply in a subordinate clause?

In a subordinate clause, Danish does not use V2; the subject normally comes before the verb.

Compare:

• Main clause: Efter et langt telefonopkald beslutter hun at blive hjemme.
  (V2: verb beslutter is in second position.)

• Subordinate clause: Efter at hun har haft et langt telefonopkald, beslutter hun at blive hjemme.
  Here, in the clause at hun har haft et langt telefonopkald, the order is:

  • at (subordinator)
  • hun (subject)
  • har haft (verb phrase)

So: V2 applies in main clauses, but not inside subordinate clauses.