Vi bliver hjemme på grund af sneen.

We stay at home because of the snow.

Breakdown of Vi bliver hjemme på grund af sneen.

• sneen: the snow
• vi: we
• blive: to stay
• hjemme: at home
• på grund af: because of

Questions & Answers about Vi bliver hjemme på grund af sneen.

What does "bliver" mean in this sentence, and how is it different from "er"?

In "Vi bliver hjemme på grund af sneen", bliver means “stay / are staying”.

• bliver hjemme ≈ “stay at home / are staying at home”
• er hjemme ≈ “are at home” (a simple state, not the decision to stay there)

So:

• Vi er hjemme. – We are at home. (location)
• Vi bliver hjemme. – We’re staying home (we’re not going out). (decision/action)

Is this present simple or present continuous in Danish?

Danish doesn’t normally distinguish present simple vs present continuous like English does.

Vi bliver hjemme can mean:

• We stay home (generally / habitually).
• We’re staying home (this time / today).

Context decides. In English, it’s usually translated as “We’re staying home because of the snow.”

Why is it "hjemme" and not "hjem"?

Danish distinguishes between location and direction:

• hjemme = at home (location, where you are)
• hjem = home (direction, where you are going)

So:

• Vi er hjemme. – We are at home.
• Vi bliver hjemme. – We stay at home.
• Vi går hjem. – We go (walk) home.
• Vi tager hjem. – We go home (by some transport).

In your sentence, it’s about being/staying at a place, so hjemme is correct.

What does "på grund af" mean, and what is its literal meaning?

på grund af means “because of / due to / on account of.”

Literally:

• på = on
• grund = ground / basis
• af = of

So literally: “on the ground/basis of”, but idiomatically it’s just “because of.”

It functions as a preposition-like expression and is followed by a noun phrase:

• på grund af sneen – because of the snow
• på grund af arbejdet – because of the work

What is the difference between "på grund af" and "fordi"?

Both express a reason, but they work differently:

• på grund af is followed by a noun phrase (or pronoun):

  • Vi bliver hjemme på grund af sneen.
    We’re staying home because of the snow.

• fordi introduces a clause with a subject and a verb:

  • Vi bliver hjemme, fordi det sner.
    We’re staying home because it’s snowing.

So you cannot say:

• ✗ Vi bliver hjemme på grund af det sner. (wrong)

Choose:

• på grund af + noun
• fordi + clause

Why is it "sneen" and not just "sne"?

sne means “snow” (indefinite, general).
sneen is the definite form: “the snow.”

In Danish, definiteness is usually shown with a suffix instead of a separate word:

• en sne – a snow (rare; normally just sne for “snow”)
• sneen – the snow

på grund af sneen focuses on the particular snow you’re dealing with now (the snow outside today, the current snowfall). That’s why sneen is natural here.

When would you use "sne" without "-en"?

Use sne (without -en) when talking about snow in general, not a specific instance:

• Jeg kan godt lide sne. – I like snow.
• Der kommer meget sne om vinteren. – There is a lot of snow in winter.
• De forudser sne i weekenden. – They predict snow at the weekend.

In Vi bliver hjemme på grund af sneen, using the definite form sneen points to this actual snow that’s causing the problem.

Can you change the word order in this sentence?

Yes, but you must keep the verb in second position (the V2 rule in Danish main clauses).

Neutral word order:

• Vi bliver hjemme på grund af sneen.

If you move the reason to the front:

• På grund af sneen bliver vi hjemme. – Still correct and natural.

But this is not natural:

• ✗ Vi bliver på grund af sneen hjemme.

The adverbial hjemme normally stays close to bliver, so bliver hjemme should stay together.

Is "på grund af" one word or three, and can it be split?

It is three separate words: på grund af.

They function as a unit in meaning (because of), but you do not split them or insert other words in the middle:

• ✔ på grund af sneen – correct
• ✗ på grund sneen af – wrong
• ✗ på den grund af sneen – wrong (you can’t insert “den” there)

What are the grammatical roles of each word in the sentence?

• Vi – subject pronoun (we)
• bliver – finite verb in present tense (stay / are staying)
• hjemme – adverb of place (at home)
• på grund af – prepositional expression indicating cause (because of / due to)
• sneen – noun phrase in definite form, object of the preposition (the snow)

So overall structure: [Subject] Vi – [Verb] bliver – [Place adverbial] hjemme – [Cause adverbial] på grund af sneen

How would you translate the whole sentence naturally into English?

Most natural translations:

• We’re staying home because of the snow.
  or
• We’re staying at home because of the snow.

Less common but possible:

• We stay home because of the snow. (more general/habitual)

How do you pronounce "hjemme", "bliver", and "sneen"?

Approximate pronunciations (not strict IPA):

• hjemme – like “YEH-meh”

  • The h is silent; hj sounds like English y.

• bliver – often like “BLEE-ver” but with a softer final sound

  • Danish r is not like English r; it’s more in the throat.

• sneen – roughly “SNAY-en”

  • One long vowel, and the ending -en is quite light.

Exact Danish phonetics are more complex, but these approximations will be understood.

Are there other natural ways to say this in Danish?

Yes, for example:

• Vi bliver derhjemme på grund af sneen.
  – We’re staying at (our) home because of the snow. (slightly more specific “at home (at our place)”)

• Vi går ikke ud på grund af sneen.
  – We’re not going out because of the snow.

• Vi bliver indenfor på grund af sneen.
  – We’re staying inside because of the snow.

The original sentence is the most direct equivalent of “We’re staying home because of the snow.”

How would you say this in the past tense?

Change bliver (present) to blev (past):

• Vi blev hjemme på grund af sneen.
  – We stayed home because of the snow.

Everything else in the sentence stays the same.