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Hun bliver ved med at øve sig på dansk, mens hun rører i gryden.

Hun bliver ved med at øve sig på dansk, mens hun rører i gryden.
She keeps practicing Danish while she stirs in the pot.

Breakdown of Hun bliver ved med at øve sig på dansk, mens hun rører i gryden.

på
on
at
to
hun
she
øve
to practice
mens
while
dansk
Danish
sig
herself
gryden
the pot
røre i
to stir
blive ved med
to keep (on doing)
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Questions & Answers about Hun bliver ved med at øve sig på dansk, mens hun rører i gryden.

What does bliver ved med at mean grammatically, and why is bliver used here?

bliver ved med at + infinitive is a fixed expression meaning to keep (on) doing / to continue to do.
Here bliver isn’t the “become” meaning; it’s part of this idiom. You generally treat bliver ved med as one unit:

  • Hun bliver ved med at øve sig = She keeps practising.
Why do we need at before øve?

In Danish, most infinitives are introduced with at (like English to) after many verbs/expressions, including bliver ved med:

  • at øve = to practise.
    So bliver ved med at + verb is the normal pattern.
What is øve sig, and why is it reflexive?

øve means to practise, and øve sig specifically means to practise (oneself) → idiomatically just to practise (a skill).
The reflexive pronoun changes with the subject:

  • jeg øver mig
  • du øver dig
  • hun øver sig
  • vi øver os
Why does it say på dansk and not dansk or i dansk?

With øve sig, Danish commonly uses på to mark what you’re practising:

  • øve sig på dansk = practise Danish (as the subject/skill).
    You’ll also see øve sig i in some contexts, but på dansk is very natural for practising a language.
What’s the function of mens in this sentence?

mens means while and introduces a subordinate clause describing something happening at the same time:

  • Main clause: Hun bliver ved med at øve sig på dansk
  • Subordinate clause: mens hun rører i gryden
Why is there a comma before mens?

In Danish, you normally put a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by words like mens, fordi, at, som, etc. So:

  • …, mens hun rører i gryden.
    (Some styles use a slightly different comma system, but this comma is very standard.)
Why is the word order mens hun rører and not mens rører hun?

In a subordinate clause introduced by mens, Danish typically keeps subject before verb:

  • mens hun rører …
    Inversion (rører hun …) is typical in main clauses after something is fronted, but not here.
What does rører i gryden mean, and why i?

røre means to stir. With cooking, Danish often says røre i + container to mean stirring in something:

  • rører i gryden = stirs in the pot.
    You can also hear røre gryden in some contexts, but røre i gryden is very common for the action of stirring its contents.
What is the difference between gryde and gryden?

gryde = a pot (indefinite).
gryden = the pot (definite, with the -n ending).
So i gryden refers to a specific pot that’s already understood from context.

Why is present tense used (bliver, øver, rører) even though it describes an ongoing action?

Danish often uses the simple present for actions happening now or currently, where English might prefer a progressive form:

  • Danish present: hun rører i gryden
  • Natural English: she is stirring the pot
    Danish can also express “right now” with adverbs like nu, but it isn’t required.
How would I move mens hun rører i gryden to the front, and what happens to word order?

If you front the subordinate clause, the main clause becomes inverted (verb before subject), because it’s now after a clause in first position:

  • Mens hun rører i gryden, bliver hun ved med at øve sig på dansk.
    Notice bliver hun (inversion) in the main clause.
Any pronunciation pitfalls in this sentence for an English speaker?

Common tricky spots:

  • bliver: the -er is reduced; the v can be soft. (Often roughly like BLEE-vuh in rhythm, but Danish vowels are different.)
  • øve: ø is a front rounded vowel (like German ö); øve sounds like ØH-və.
  • rører: the ø again, and r is Danish (often uvular); rører is roughly RØR-ər with a reduced ending.
  • gryden: y is a front rounded vowel (like French u in lune), and the -en ending is reduced.