Breakdown of Min ven er ikke så modig, men hun er altid venlig mod publikum.
være
to be
men
but
min
my
hun
she
Questions & Answers about Min ven er ikke så modig, men hun er altid venlig mod publikum.
Why is it hun when ven just means “friend”? Shouldn’t it be something like a feminine word instead?
In Danish, ven is a common-gender noun and just means friend; it doesn’t tell you the person’s sex. You show the person’s gender with the pronoun, not by changing ven.
- Min ven = my friend (could be male or female)
- hun = she
- han = he
So in your sentence, hun tells us that this friend is a woman:
- Min ven er ikke så modig, men hun er altid venlig mod publikum.
My friend is not so brave, but she is always kind to the audience.
If you specifically want to say female friend, you can use veninde:
- Min veninde er ikke så modig, men hun er altid venlig mod publikum.
Both are correct; veninde just makes the female gender explicit in the noun as well.
Why does ikke come after er in er ikke så modig? Could I say Min ven ikke er så modig?
In a normal Danish main clause (a simple statement), the finite verb must be in second position (the “V2” rule). So:
- Min ven (1st position: subject)
- er (2nd position: verb)
- then comes ikke and the rest.
So the correct order is:
- Min ven er ikke så modig.
Putting ikke before the verb in a main clause, as in Min ven ikke er så modig, breaks the V2 rule and is ungrammatical.
Placed correctly:
- er = 2nd element
- ikke = right after the verb (in a neutral sentence like this)