Questions & Answers about Min ven er meget kreativ, når han maler et maleri.
Why is it min ven and not mit ven?
Danish has two grammatical genders: common gender (en‑words) and neuter gender (et‑words).
- ven is an en‑word: en ven (a friend)
- The possessive for en‑words in the singular is min
- The possessive for et‑words in the singular is mit
So you say:
- min ven = my friend (because ven is an en‑word)
- mit hus = my house (because hus is an et‑word)
mit ven would be grammatically wrong.
Why is there a comma before når?
In Danish, you normally put a comma before a dependent clause introduced by words like når, fordi, at, som, hvis, etc.
- Min ven er meget kreativ, når han maler et maleri.
- Main clause: Min ven er meget kreativ
- Subordinate clause: når han maler et maleri
Traditional Danish comma rules require a comma here.
Modern “optional start comma” rules allow you to leave out some commas, but a comma before subordinating conjunctions like når is still very common and perfectly correct:
- With comma (very common):
Min ven er meget kreativ, når han maler et maleri. - Without comma (also seen, depending on style):
Min ven er meget kreativ når han maler et maleri.
For learners, it’s safest to keep the comma.
Is maler et maleri natural Danish, or is it repetitive like “paints a painting” in English?