Learn Hardcore Danish: De vælger det billige museum, fordi de hellere vil bruge penge på sjov. - They choose the cheap museum, because they would rather spend money on fun.

De vælger det billige museum, fordi de hellere vil bruge penge på sjov.

They choose the cheap museum, because they would rather spend money on fun.

Breakdown of De vælger det billige museum, fordi de hellere vil bruge penge på sjov.

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Questions & Answers about De vælger det billige museum, fordi de hellere vil bruge penge på sjov.

Why is it “det billige museum” and not “det billig museum” or “et billigt museum”?

There are two things going on: definiteness and adjective endings.

Indefinite vs definite
- et billigt museum = a cheap museum (indefinite)
- det billige museum = the cheap museum (definite)

Because we mean the cheap museum (a specific one they’re choosing), we need the definite form with det.

Adjective endings with definite nouns
The adjective billig changes its ending:

Indefinite neuter: et billigt museum
Definite (with det, den, de, or a possessive): det billige museum

So after det, the adjective always takes -e: det billige museum, never det billig museum.

Why is it “det” billige museum and not “den billige museum”?

In Danish, nouns have two genders:

common gender: uses en/den (e.g. en bil, den bil – a/the car)
neuter gender: uses et/det (e.g. et hus, det hus – a/the house)

The noun museum is neuter gender:

et museum – a museum
museet – the museum
det museum / det billige museum – the (cheap) museum

So you must use det, not den, because museum is neuter.

What form of the adjective is “billige”, and when do you use it?

Billige is the definite form / common plural form of the adjective billig.

Very short overview using billig:

Indefinite singular
- en billig bil – a cheap car (common gender)
- et billigt museum – a cheap museum (neuter)
Plural (indefinite)
- billige biler / billige museer – cheap cars / museums
Definite (with “den/det/de” or a possessive)
- den billige bil – the cheap car
- det billige museum – the cheap museum
- de billige museer – the cheap museums
- min billige bil – my cheap car

Whenever there is den/det/de (or min/din/sin/vores etc.), you use billige, not billig or billigt. Hence: det billige museum.

Why is the word order “fordi de hellere vil bruge” and not “fordi de vil hellere bruge”?

This is a classic main-clause vs subordinate-clause word-order issue.

In a main clause, the finite verb (here: vil) usually comes in second position:
- De vil hellere bruge penge… – They would rather spend money…
In a subordinate clause introduced by fordi, the order is:
- fordi + subject + (sentence adverb) + finite verb
  → fordi de hellere vil bruge penge…

So:

Main clause: De vil hellere bruge…
Subordinate clause: fordi de hellere vil bruge…

Putting vil before hellere (fordi de vil hellere bruge) sounds wrong in standard Danish.

What does “hellere vil” mean, and how is it different from just “vil” or “gerne vil”?

vil = want / will (neutral)
- De vil bruge penge. – They want to spend money.
gerne vil = would like to; are happy to
- De vil gerne bruge penge på museet. – They’d like to spend money on the museum.
hellere vil = would rather; prefer to
- De hellere vil bruge penge på sjov. (in a subclause: fordi de hellere vil…)
- Meaning: They prefer to spend money on fun (instead of, say, an expensive museum).

So hellere is basically “rather”, the comparative of gerne. It always goes with a verb (often vil/ville):

Jeg vil hellere blive hjemme. – I’d rather stay home.
Hun ville hellere rejse. – She would rather travel.

Why is it “bruge penge på sjov” and not something like “til sjov”?

In Danish, the common expression for spend money on something is:

bruge penge på [noget]
- bruge penge på mad – spend money on food
- bruge penge på tøj – spend money on clothes
- bruge penge på sjov – spend money on fun

Using til here (e.g. bruge penge til sjov) is not idiomatic in this sense. Til can mean for / to in other structures, but the fixed collocation for “spend money on” is bruge (eller bruge/spende) penge på.

What does “på sjov” mean exactly, and why is “sjov” without an ending?

Here sjov is used as a noun meaning “fun (activities, entertainment)”, similar to English “on fun” / “on having fun”:

bruge penge på sjov – spend money on fun (things)

It is not definite (sjoven) or plural (sjove ting). It’s more like an uncountable mass noun, similar to English “fun” (we don’t usually say “a fun” in English either).

You could also say:

bruge penge på sjove ting – spend money on fun things
bruge penge på underholdning – spend money on entertainment

But på sjov is a short, very natural way to say “on fun stuff”.

Why is “penge” in the plural form, and does Danish have a singular form?

Penge is almost always used in the plural form in modern Danish:

penge = money (as a mass noun)
Har du penge? – Do you have money?

There is no normal singular form meaning “a single ‘money’” the way English has “a coin” or “a note”. For specific items, you’d normally use other words:

en mønt – a coin
en seddel – a (bank)note

So bruge penge simply means spend money, with penge treated as a plural noun that corresponds to English “money”.

What tense is “vælger”, and could this also be written with an infinitive like “vælger at …”?

Vælger is the present tense of at vælge (to choose):

De vælger det billige museum… – They choose / are choosing the cheap museum…

You can combine vælge with at + infinitive when you specify what action is being chosen, for example:

De vælger at besøge det billige museum. – They choose to visit the cheap museum.

In your sentence, the object of vælger is simply a noun phrase (det billige museum), so no at-construction is needed:

Correct: De vælger det billige museum…
Also correct but slightly different meaning: De vælger at besøge det billige museum… (they choose to visit it).