Learn Hardcore Danish: Mine indkøb er lettere, når supermarkedet ikke er fyldt med mennesker. - My shopping is easier when the supermarket is not full of people.

indkøb is a neuter noun:
- singular: et indkøb (a purchase) → mit indkøb (my purchase)
- plural: indkøb (purchases) → mine indkøb (my purchases)

In this sentence, the speaker is thinking of their shopping trips / purchases in general, which is naturally plural in Danish, so you need mine (plural) + indkøb (plural form).

You would only say mit indkøb if you were talking about one specific purchase.
min indkøb is simply wrong, because min is used for common gender singular nouns, and indkøb is neuter.

Does mine indkøb literally mean my shopping, and is indkøb always plural in this meaning?

Literally, mine indkøb is my purchases or my shopping trips.

In practice:

mine indkøb often corresponds to English my shopping, my grocery shopping, or my errands, especially when talking about a recurring activity.
You can use indkøb in:
- singular: Jeg gjorde ét stort indkøb – I made one big purchase.
- plural: Jeg gjorde mine indkøb i går – I did my shopping yesterday.

So indkøb is not always plural, but when you talk about your regular or typical shopping, Danes very often use the plural: mine indkøb.

Why is the verb order er lettere and not lettere er? Can adjectives come before the verb?

In Danish, the normal word order in a simple statement is:

Subject – Verb – (Adverbs) – Predicate / Object

Here:

Subject: Mine indkøb
Verb: er
Predicate (adjective): lettere

So Mine indkøb er lettere is the normal order.

Putting the adjective before the verb (Lettere er mine indkøb) is possible only in very marked, poetic, or stylistic language, not in everyday speech. It would sound strange or dramatic, like old-fashioned headline style.

So for normal sentences, keep: subject + verb + adjective.

What exactly is the difference between lettere and nemmere? Could I say Mine indkøb er nemmere?

Yes, you can say Mine indkøb er nemmere, and it will be understood as My shopping is easier.

Nuance:

let → lettere
- literally both light(er) (not heavy) and easy(er)
- can sound a bit more neutral or sometimes slightly formal.
nem → nemmere
- more clearly easy / simple in the sense of not complicated.

In this sentence, both work:

Mine indkøb er lettere – My shopping is easier / less of a burden.
Mine indkøb er nemmere – My shopping is easier / less complicated.

Most Danes would find both natural. The difference is very small in this context.

Why is it når and not da or hvis? All of them can relate to when or if, right?

All three exist, but they are used differently:

når = when / whenever, for:
- present or future time
- repeated situations or general truths
- Example: Jeg tager bussen, når det regner. – I take the bus when it rains.
da = when, but:
- only for one specific event in the past
- Example: Da jeg kom hjem, sov han. – When I came home, he was sleeping.
hvis = if, for conditions:
- Example: Hvis det regner, tager jeg bussen. – If it rains, I take the bus.

In your sentence, we are talking about a general, repeated situation (whenever the supermarket isn’t full, shopping is easier), so når is the correct choice.

Mine indkøb er lettere, når supermarkedet ikke er fyldt med mennesker.
= My shopping is easier whenever / when the supermarket isn’t full of people.

Why is there a comma before når? Is it always required in Danish?

The comma before når marks the start of a subordinate clause:

Main clause: Mine indkøb er lettere
Subordinate clause: når supermarkedet ikke er fyldt med mennesker

In traditional Danish comma rules, you must put a comma before most subordinate clauses (including those starting with når).

There is a “new comma system” where this comma is often optional, but:

Many Danes still use the comma in writing.
In textbooks and exams, it’s usually safer to include it.

So:
Mine indkøb er lettere, når supermarkedet ikke er fyldt med mennesker.
is the standard, recommended punctuation.

Why is the word order når supermarkedet ikke er fyldt and not når supermarkedet er ikke fyldt?

This is about Danish main clause vs. subordinate clause word order.

In a main clause, the typical order is:
Subject – Verb – Adverb – …
Example:
- Supermarkedet er ikke fyldt med mennesker.
  (Subject supermarkedet, verb er, adverb ikke)
In a subordinate clause, the order changes to:
(Conjunction) – Subject – Adverb – Verb – …
Example:
- når supermarkedet ikke er fyldt med mennesker
  conjunction når, subject supermarkedet, adverb ikke, verb er

So:

Main clause: Supermarkedet er ikke fyldt…
Subordinate clause: når supermarkedet ikke er fyldt…

når supermarkedet er ikke fyldt is wrong word order for a subordinate clause.

Why is it supermarkedet (the supermarket) and not just et supermarked (a supermarket)?

Using the definite form (supermarkedet) implies a specific or known supermarket from the speaker’s point of view:

It might be the supermarket they usually go to.
It could also mean “the supermarket” in general, assuming context makes clear which one.

If you said:

Mine indkøb er lettere, når et supermarked ikke er fyldt med mennesker.

this would sound more abstract – like “when a supermarket is not full,” without referring to a particular place you normally visit. It is grammatically correct, but less natural in everyday speech in this context.

So supermarkedet feels more natural, because people usually think of their usual supermarket.

What is fyldt grammatically, and why doesn’t it change form?

fyldt is the past participle of the verb at fylde (to fill).

In this sentence it is used as an adjective meaning filled / full after the verb er:

supermarkedet er fyldt – the supermarket is filled / full.

As a predicative adjective after er, it does not change form for gender or number:

Supermarkedet er fyldt. – The supermarket is full.
Gaderne er fyldt med mennesker. – The streets are full of people.

You don’t say fyldte here, because that form is used in different contexts (e.g. attributive: de fyldte flasker – the filled bottles). In predicative position after er, the usual form is fyldt.

Why is it fyldt med mennesker and not fyldt af mennesker or fuld af mennesker?

All of these exist, but there are preferences and nuances.

fyldt med mennesker (used in your sentence)
- Very common for physical filling with people or things.
- Neutral and natural:
  - Supermarkedet er fyldt med mennesker.
fyldt af mennesker
- Also possible, but less common with concrete physical filling.
- af often suggests cause, source, or more abstract contents:
  - Han var fyldt af sorg. – He was filled with sorrow.
fuld af mennesker
- Uses the adjective fuld (full) instead of fyldt.
- Very natural too:
  - Supermarkedet er fuld af mennesker.

So you could say:

Supermarkedet er fyldt med mennesker.
Supermarkedet er fuld af mennesker.

Both are good. The sentence just happens to use fyldt med, which is a very standard choice.

Why do we say mennesker and not menneskerne or folk?

mennesker = people (indefinite plural)
- general, not a specific group
- fits the idea “when the supermarket is not full of people (in general).”
menneskerne = the people (definite plural)
- refers to a specific group already known in the context.
folk is another word for people, often more informal or collective:
- Der er meget folk i supermarkedet. – There are many people in the supermarket. (colloquial)

In this sentence, mennesker is:

indefinite → we are not talking about a specific group, just people in general.
neutral and standard in written language.

You could say fyldt med folk in speech, but fyldt med mennesker is slightly more neutral/formal and fits well in a textbook-style example.

Could we also say Mine indkøb bliver lettere, når supermarkedet ikke er fyldt med mennesker? What’s the difference between er and bliver here?

Yes, you can say both, but they focus on slightly different things:

er = are (state)
- Mine indkøb er lettere, når …
- Describes a general relationship: “My shopping is easier whenever …”
bliver = become / get (change)
- Mine indkøb bliver lettere, når …
- Emphasizes the change: “My shopping becomes / gets easier when …”

In many everyday contexts, Danes use both quite freely, and the difference is subtle:

er lettere: more like a static rule.
bliver lettere: hints a bit more at the process of becoming easier at that moment.

Your original sentence with er is perfectly natural and maybe slightly more “general-statement-like.”