Søskenden kommer for sent til filmen.

The sibling arrives late to the movie.

Breakdown of Søskenden kommer for sent til filmen.

• til: to
• komme: to come
• sent: late
• for: too
• filmen: the movie
• søskenden: the sibling

Questions & Answers about Søskenden kommer for sent til filmen.

What exactly does søskenden mean here? Is it one sibling or several?

Søskenden is grammatically singular and definite: it means “the sibling” (one person).

The basic noun is søskende (sibling / siblings). Its common forms are:

• en søskende – a sibling (singular, indefinite)
• søskenden – the sibling (singular, definite)
• søskende – siblings (plural, indefinite)
• søskendene – the siblings (plural, definite)

So in your sentence, we are talking about one specific sibling.

Do people actually say søskenden, or is this unusual in modern Danish?

It’s grammatically correct, but unusual in everyday speech.

In practice, Danes usually say:

• broren / broderen – the brother
• søsteren – the sister

Instead of søskenden, they would normally specify whether it’s a brother or a sister. Søskenden is more likely in formal, written contexts (e.g. psychology, social work, medicine) where the gender doesn’t matter, or in slightly old‑fashioned language.

So: correct, but not very common in casual conversation.

Why is kommer used here? In English I’d expect “is late”, not “comes late”.

In Danish, the idiomatic way to say “to be late (for something)” is komme for sent:

• Han kommer for sent. – He is late.
• Vi kom for sent til mødet. – We were late for the meeting.

Literally it’s “come too late”, but it’s understood as “arrive late / be late”. So:

• Søskenden kommer for sent til filmen.
  = The sibling is (arrives) too late for the movie.

Using er (er for sent) here would not be idiomatic.

What does for sent mean exactly, and what is for doing there?

For sent means “too late”.

• sent = late (adverb form of sen)
• for here is an intensifier, not a preposition. It has the same role as too in too late.

So:

• sent – late
• for sent – too late

This for does not take an object (unlike for = for/for the sake of). It just modifies the adverb/adjective that follows it:

• for stor – too big
• for dyr – too expensive
• for sent – too late

Why is it sent and not sen in for sent?

Danish distinguishes between an adjective form and an adverb / neuter form:

• sen – adjective: used with nouns or as a normal predicate

  • en sen film – a late movie
  • Filmen er sen. – The movie is late.

• sent – adverb / neuter form: used with verbs or with neuter subjects

  • Vi kommer sent. – We arrive late.
  • Det er sent. – It is late.

In kommer for sent, sent modifies the verb kommer, so you must use the adverb form sent, not sen.

Why is the preposition til used in til filmen and not something like for filmen?

Here til means roughly “to / for (an event or destination)” and is the normal choice:

• for sent til filmen – too late for the movie
• for sent til mødet – too late for the meeting
• for sent til toget – too late for the train

You generally use til with events, appointments, and means of transport when you mean “in time for / to (catch/attend)”.

For filmen would mean “for the film” in the sense of “for the benefit of / on behalf of the film”, which is not what you want here.

Why is filmen in the definite form? Could you say til en film instead?

Filmen is definite: “the movie”, i.e. some specific movie both speaker and listener know about (the one they plan to see).

You can change the meaning by changing the article:

• til filmen – to / for the movie (a particular one)
• til en film – to / for a movie (some movie, not specified which)

So:

• Søskenden kommer for sent til filmen.
  → The sibling is too late for that specific movie they were going to see.

Using til film without an article would not be idiomatic in this meaning.

If I want to say “The siblings are late for the movie”, how do I change the sentence?

You make the subject plural:

• Søskendene kommer for sent til filmen.
  = The siblings are too late for the movie.

Points to notice:

• søskendene = the siblings (plural, definite)
• kommer stays the same form; Danish verbs do not change for person or number:
  • Jeg kommer – I come
  • Vi kommer – we come
  • Søskendene kommer – the siblings come

Is the word order Søskenden kommer for sent til filmen fixed, or can I move for sent?

The neutral, most natural order is exactly what you have:

• Søskenden kommer for sent til filmen.

You technically can say:

• Søskenden kommer til filmen for sent.

This is still grammatical, but it usually puts extra emphasis on for sent at the end and can sound a bit more marked or dramatic. For everyday, neutral Danish, keep:

[Subject] + [verb] + for sent + [til + event]
Søskenden kommer for sent til filmen.

The verb is present tense kommer. Does that describe a present situation or a future event?

Danish present tense is used for both:

1. General / current facts

   • Han kommer altid for sent. – He is always late.

2. Future events that are planned or expected

   • Vi kommer klokken otte. – We’re coming at eight (we will arrive at eight).

In your sentence, kommer is very likely future-oriented (“will be late for the movie”), but Danish still uses the simple present. Context (time expressions, situation) tells you whether it’s about now or a later time.