Learn Hardcore Danish: Efter arbejde handler jeg i et lille supermarked og køber ind til aftensmaden. - After work I do the shopping in a small supermarket and buy groceries for dinner.

Arbejde is a noun (et arbejde = a job/work), but in some fixed expressions Danish uses the noun without an article to talk about work in a general way:

efter arbejde – after work (in general, after my working hours)
på arbejde – at work
til arbejde – to work

If you say efter arbejdet, it means after the (specific) work – a particular task or project you just finished. In everyday speech about a working day, efter arbejde is more natural.

Is arbejde here a noun or a verb?

Here arbejde is a noun:

Verb: at arbejde = to work
Noun: (et) arbejde = work / a job

In Efter arbejde, it functions as a noun meaning “(my) work, working hours”, but without an article, as explained above. It is not a shortened form of the verb.

Why is the word order Efter arbejde handler jeg and not Efter arbejde jeg handler?

Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb is always in second position in the clause.

In this sentence:

Efter arbejde – first position (an adverbial phrase, “after work”)
handler – second position (the finite verb)
jeg – third position (the subject)

So the correct order is:

Efter arbejde handler jeg …

You could also say:

Jeg handler i et lille supermarked efter arbejde.

There the subject jeg is first, and the verb handler is still second.

What exactly does handler mean here? Is it the same as køber ind?

Both relate to “shopping”, but they are not identical:

at handle (here: handler)
- Basic meaning: to trade, to shop, to do your shopping.
- Jeg handler i et supermarked = I (usually) shop in a supermarket.
at købe ind (here: køber ind)
- Idiomatic: to do (the) shopping, usually groceries.
- Focus is on buying things you need.

In the sentence:

handler jeg i et lille supermarked – I do my shopping in a small supermarket (this is the place I use).
og køber ind til aftensmaden – and I buy things for dinner.

There is some semantic overlap, but it sounds natural in Danish: first you mention where you shop, then what purpose the shopping has (for dinner).

What does the little word ind add in køber ind? Could you just say køber?

Ind here is a verb particle, not a literal “in/into” of direction.

købe = to buy (a specific thing)
- Jeg køber en bog. – I’m buying a book.
købe ind = to go shopping, to do the shopping (typically food / groceries)
- Jeg køber ind. – I’m doing the shopping.

In køber ind til aftensmaden, the idea is “I do the shopping (buy in supplies) for dinner.” If you remove ind, it sounds like you are buying the dinner itself as one item, rather than doing the dinner shopping.

Why is it i et lille supermarked and not i en lille supermarked?

Because supermarked is a neuter noun in Danish:

et supermarked – a supermarket (neuter)
supermarkedet – the supermarket

So the correct indefinite article is et, not en.

The adjective lille is irregular but here it is in its normal indefinite singular form:

et lille supermarked – a small supermarket (neuter)
en lille butik – a small shop (common gender)

So i et lille supermarked is grammatically correct: in a small supermarket.

Why do we use i with supermarked? Could you say på et lille supermarked?

With places, Danish chooses between i and på somewhat idiomatically.

i is used for being inside many types of buildings/rooms:
- i et supermarked, i en butik, i en bank, i et hus.
på is used with some other common locations:
- på arbejde, på hospitalet, på skole, på restaurant.

For a supermarket, the natural preposition is i, because you are physically inside the store. på et supermarked is not idiomatic Danish.

Why is it til aftensmaden and not something like for aftensmaden or just aftensmaden?

The preposition til is very common for expressing purpose or intended use:

Jeg køber ind til aftensmaden. – I buy (things) for dinner.
Brød til morgenmad. – Bread for breakfast.

Using for here (for aftensmaden) would sound foreign or wrong in standard Danish.

You could also say:

Jeg køber ind til aftensmad.

That is also correct, and a bit more general (“for dinner” as a meal). With til aftensmaden, you point more clearly to this particular dinner (e.g. tonight’s dinner).

Why is aftensmaden in the definite form here?

Aftensmad is a common-gender noun:

aftensmad – dinner (indefinite)
aftensmaden – the dinner (definite)

In context, aftensmaden usually means “today’s dinner / tonight’s dinner that we are going to eat”. So:

køber ind til aftensmaden = do the shopping for the dinner (the specific one we’re planning).

If you say til aftensmad, it feels a bit more general: shopping “for dinner” as a type of meal, without emphasizing a particular one. Both forms are possible; the sentence just chooses the more specific, definite one.

Do I need to repeat jeg before køber ind, or is it okay as written?

The sentence:

Efter arbejde handler jeg i et lille supermarked og køber ind til aftensmaden.

is correct as it stands. In Danish, when two verbs share the same subject, you often do not repeat the subject after og:

Jeg handler og køber ind. – I shop and (I) do the shopping.

You may repeat jeg for emphasis or clarity:

Efter arbejde handler jeg i et lille supermarked, og jeg køber ind til aftensmaden.

Both are grammatical; the version without the second jeg is slightly more compact and very natural in writing.

How does the present tense work here? Does handler and køber mean “I am shopping / I am buying” or “I shop / I buy”?

Danish has only one present-tense form (the -r form), and it covers both:

English simple present: “I shop”, “I buy”
English present continuous: “I am shopping”, “I am buying”

So:

jeg handler can mean “I shop” (regular habit) or “I am shopping (right now)”, depending on context.
jeg køber ind can mean “I do the shopping” or “I am doing the shopping”.

In this sentence, without extra time markers, it most naturally describes a regular routine: After work I (usually) shop in a small supermarket and do the shopping for dinner.