Breakdown of Filmen begynder klokken otte.
filmen
the movie
klokken
the time (on the clock)
otte
eight
begynde
to start
Questions & Answers about Filmen begynder klokken otte.
Why is it filmen and not just film?
In Danish, the definite article (the) is usually a suffix attached to the noun, not a separate word as in English.
- film = a film / film (in general)
- filmen = the film
So -en is the definite ending for many common gender nouns (called fælleskøn).
Because Danish doesn’t use a separate word like the, you show definiteness by adding -en (or sometimes -et, depending on the noun).
Why is Filmen capitalized? Are all nouns capitalized in Danish like in German?
No. Danish does not capitalize all nouns.
Here, Filmen is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.
If it appeared in the middle of a sentence, it would be filmen:
- Jeg har set filmen. – I have seen the film.
So: sentence-initial word ⇒ capitalized; nouns in general ⇒ not capitalized.
Why is the verb begynder in the present tense if it’s talking about the future?