De hjælper hinanden med lektierne efter skole.

the school

Breakdown of De hjælper hinanden med lektierne efter skole.

• med: with
• hjælpe: to help
• efter: after
• de: they
• hinanden: each other
• lektien: the homework

Questions & Answers about De hjælper hinanden med lektierne efter skole.

Why is it De and not Dem?

De is the subject pronoun (“they”), used when “they” do the action of the verb.

• De hjælper … = They help … (subject)
• Jeg hjælper dem. = I help them. (dem = object, “them”)

So in this sentence, De must be the subject: They help each other…

What is the infinitive of hjælper, and how is it conjugated?

The infinitive is (at) hjælpe = to help.

The main forms are:

• Infinitive: (at) hjælpe
• Present: hjælper – De hjælper. = They help.
• Past: hjalp – De hjalp. = They helped.
• Past participle: hjulpet – De har hjulpet. = They have helped.

In the present tense, Danish verbs take -r and don’t change for person:

• jeg/du/han/vi/de hjælper – always hjælper.

What does hinanden mean, and when do you use it?

Hinanden means “each other / one another”. It’s a reciprocal pronoun used when two or more people do something to one another.

• De hjælper hinanden = They help each other.
• De krammer hinanden = They hug each other.

Compare with sig, which is reflexive (“themselves / himself / herself”):

• De vasker sig = They wash themselves.
• De vasker hinanden = They wash each other.

Use hinanden when A does something to B and B does the same to A (mutual action).

Why do we say hjælper hinanden med lektierne and not something like hjælper lektierne?

In Danish, when you help with something, you normally use the preposition med:

• hjælpe nogen med noget
  
  • De hjælper hinanden med lektierne.
  • Jeg hjælper dig med arbejdet = I help you with the work.

You can’t say hjælper lektierne; that would wrongly mean “help the homework” (as if the homework is a person). You must help someone with something:

• subject + hjælper
  • person + med
    • thing.

Why is it lektierne (with -ne) instead of just lektier?

Lektie = a homework task (singular)
lektier = homework (plural, indefinite)
lektierne = the homework (plural, definite)

In Danish, “homework” is typically talked about in the plural, and here it is definite (their specific homework):

• De laver lektier = They are doing homework (in general).
• De laver lektierne = They are doing the homework (that they have).

So med lektierne = “with the homework” (the homework they have to do).

Can you explain the word order in De hjælper hinanden med lektierne efter skole?

Basic neutral order in a main clause is:

Subject – Verb – (Objects/Complements) – Adverbials

Here:

• De = subject
• hjælper = finite verb
• hinanden = indirect object (who they help)
• med lektierne = prepositional object (what they help with)
• efter skole = time adverbial (when)

So the structure is:
De (S) – hjælper (V) – hinanden (O) – med lektierne (O) – efter skole (Adv)

Time adverbials like efter skole often come toward the end in natural, neutral sentences.

Could you also say Efter skole hjælper de hinanden med lektierne?

Yes, that is perfectly correct, just with a different emphasis.

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

• De hjælper hinanden … (subject first, verb second)
• Efter skole hjælper de hinanden … (time phrase first, verb still second)

So:

• Efter skole (1st position)
• hjælper (2nd position – verb)
• de (3rd position – subject)

Fronting Efter skole emphasizes the time (“After school, they help each other…”), but both versions mean the same.

Why is it efter skole and not efter skolen?

Skole without the article here means “school” as an activity/institution, not the physical building.

• efter skole = after school (after classes / the school day)
• efter skolen = after the school (sounds more like “after the school [building]” or a specific school)

Danish often drops the definite ending in fixed, everyday expressions for activities:

• i skole = at/going to school (as an activity)
• i skolen = in the school (in the building)

So efter skole is the natural way to say after school in this sense.

Do you need at after hjælper, like hjælper hinanden med at lave lektierne?

Both are possible, but they are slightly different structures.

1. De hjælper hinanden med lektierne.
   = They help each other with the homework (noun phrase after med).

2. De hjælper hinanden med at lave lektierne.
   = They help each other to do the homework ( med

   • at
     • verb).

Patterns:

• hjælpe nogen med + NOUN
  
  • hjælpe dig med lektierne
• hjælpe nogen med at + VERB
  
  • hjælpe dig med at lave lektierne

Your original sentence is already complete and correct; adding at lave just makes the action (“doing” the homework) more explicit.

How do you pronounce hjælper, hinanden, and lektierne?

Approximate guides (not strict IPA), using English-like sounds:

• hjælper – roughly “yel-per”

  • hj is pronounced like English y in yes
  • æ like e in bed but a bit more open
  • final -er is a weak -uh sound

• hinanden – roughly “hee-NAN-en”

  • hi- like he
  • -nan- with a short a as in man
  • last -den is weak, almost -en

• lektierne – roughly “LEK-tsyer-neh”

  • lek- like lek in leopard (short e)
  • -tier- often sounds like “tsyer” (t + j)
  • -ne again a weak -neh

Native pronunciation is smoother and often reduces unstressed syllables, but these approximations will make you understandable.

What is the difference between lektier and lektion?

• lektier (usually plural) = homework

  • Jeg skal lave lektier. = I have to do homework.

• en lektion = a lesson / class period

  • Vi har tre lektioner i dag. = We have three lessons today.

So in med lektierne, it’s clearly about homework, not class sessions.