Onklen drikker kaffe i stuen.

in

Breakdown of Onklen drikker kaffe i stuen.

• drikke: to drink
• stuen: the living room
• kaffen: the coffee

Questions & Answers about Onklen drikker kaffe i stuen.

Why is it Onklen and not Onkel or en onkel?

Danish usually marks “the” by adding a suffix to the noun instead of using a separate word:

• onkel = uncle
• en onkel = an uncle
• onklen = the uncle

So -en is the definite ending for common-gender nouns (the “en-words”).
That’s why you say onklen for the uncle, not den onkel (unless there’s an adjective: den gamle onkel = the old uncle).

Does Onklen mean the uncle or my uncle?

Normally, onklen means the uncle, referring to a specific uncle both speaker and listener know about from context.

To say my uncle, you would generally say:

• min onkel = my uncle

Danish does not usually use the definite form of onkel to mean my uncle. That kind of usage is more typical with mor (mother) and far (father), e.g. Mor kommer (Mum is coming), and even there it’s slightly different from English.

Why is there no word for is like in “is drinking”?

Danish does not have a special continuous tense like English is drinking.

The simple present drikker covers both:

• Onklen drikker kaffe i stuen.
  – The uncle drinks coffee in the living room.
  – The uncle is drinking coffee in the living room.

Context tells you whether it’s a general habit or something happening right now.