Lad os male et maleri til festen.

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Breakdown of Lad os male et maleri til festen.

• til: for
• festen: the party
• lad os: let's

Questions & Answers about Lad os male et maleri til festen.

What does Lad os literally mean, and what is its function in the sentence?

Lad os literally means “let us”.

• Lad is the imperative (command form) of the verb at lade (“to let / to allow”).
• os means “us”.

Together, Lad os is a fixed expression used to make inclusive suggestions, like English “let’s”:

• Lad os male et maleri til festen. = “Let’s paint a painting for the party.”

Grammatically, Lad os is followed directly by the infinitive of the verb (male), without at:

• ✅ Lad os male…
• ❌ Lad os at male… (wrong)

Why is it male and not maler after Lad os?

After Lad os, Danish uses the infinitive form of the verb, without at.

• male = infinitive (“to paint”)
• maler = present tense (“paint(s) / am painting”)

Compare:

• Suggestion: Lad os male et maleri. – “Let’s paint a painting.”
• Statement: Vi maler et maleri. – “We are painting / we paint a painting.”

So Lad os + infinitive is the pattern, just like let’s + verb in English.