Jeg spørger, om der er flere grøntsager i posen, eller om vi skal købe en gulerod mere.

I ask whether there are more vegetables in the bag, or whether we should buy one more carrot.

Breakdown of Jeg spørger, om der er flere grøntsager i posen, eller om vi skal købe en gulerod mere.

• jeg: I
• i: in
• være: to be
• vi: we
• købe: to buy
• der: there
• mere: more
• flere: more
• eller: or
• skulle: should
• spørge: to ask
• om: whether
• guleroden: the carrot
• grøntsagen: the vegetable
• posen: the bag
• en: one

Questions & Answers about Jeg spørger, om der er flere grøntsager i posen, eller om vi skal købe en gulerod mere.

Why is it Jeg spørger and not Jeg spør?

Spørger is the present tense form of the verb at spørge (to ask). Danish present tense usually ends in -r (or -er in spelling for some verbs).

• Infinitive: at spørge
• Present: jeg spørger
• Past: jeg spurgte
  So jeg spør would be ungrammatical in standard Danish.

What does om do here, and why is it used twice (om … eller om …)?

Here om introduces an indirect yes/no question (roughly whether/if): Jeg spørger, om … = I’m asking whether …
It’s repeated because the sentence presents two alternative indirect questions linked by eller (or):

• om der er flere grøntsager i posen
• eller om vi skal købe en gulerod mere
  You can sometimes omit the second om in informal speech, but repeating it is very common and clear.

Why is there a comma after Jeg spørger?

Danish typically uses a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by words like om, at, fordi, etc. Here, om starts a subordinate clause, so a comma is standard:
Jeg spørger, om …

Why does it say der er instead of de er or just er?

der er is the standard existential construction: it means there is/there are.

• der here is not there as a place; it’s a “dummy” subject used to introduce existence.
  So om der er flere grøntsager = whether there are more vegetables.

What’s the difference between der and dér?

• der (unstressed) is often the dummy/existential there or a relative word (who/that/which) in other contexts.
• dér (with accent) means there (in that place) and is stressed.
  In your sentence it’s the dummy der, so no accent: der er.

Why is the word order om der er … and not om er der …?

In subordinate clauses (like the om-clause), Danish uses subject–verb order, not verb-second inversion.
So you get: om der (subject) er (verb) …
In a direct question, you would invert: Er der flere grøntsager i posen?

Is flere grøntsager definite or indefinite, and why isn’t there an article?

It’s indefinite: flere means more/several, and plural indefinite nouns in Danish usually have no article.

• en grøntsag = a vegetable (singular)
• grøntsager = vegetables (plural, indefinite)
• flere grøntsager = more vegetables

Why is grøntsager plural but en gulerod singular?

Because the first part asks about more vegetables (plural, unspecified amount), while the second part suggests buying one more carrot (a specific single item):

• flere grøntsager = more vegetables (plural)
• en gulerod mere = one more carrot (singular)

Why is it en gulerod mere and not mere en gulerod?

With mere meaning additional/another, Danish commonly places mere after the noun phrase:

• en gulerod mere = one more carrot
  You can also see this pattern with numbers: to æbler mere = two more apples.
  Putting mere before (mere en gulerod) doesn’t work in this meaning.

What exactly does skal mean here—obligation, plan, or suggestion?

skal literally means shall/must, but in everyday Danish it often expresses a practical decision/suggestion about what to do next.
om vi skal købe … is like whether we should buy … (not necessarily a strict obligation).

Why is it købe and not køber?

After a modal verb like skal, Danish uses the infinitive form of the main verb (without at):

• vi skal købe = we should buy
  So køber (present tense) would be wrong here.

Why is i posen at the end of the first clause—could it move?

Yes, Danish allows some flexibility with adverbials like i posen (in the bag). The most neutral placement is often later in the clause, as here. You could also say:

• om der er flere grøntsager i posen (common/neutral)
• om der i posen er flere grøntsager (possible but more marked/formal)
  The chosen order sounds natural and conversational.

How is this sentence pronounced, especially spørger, grøntsager, and gulerod?

A rough guide (varies by accent/region):

• spørger ≈ SPUR-uh (the ø is a rounded vowel; the ending is often reduced)
• grøntsager ≈ GRUN-sah-ur (the cluster grønt- is compressed; final -er is often a weak sound)
• gulerod ≈ GOO-luh-roth (final d is typically very soft or not fully pronounced)
  If you want, I can provide IPA for a specific Danish accent (e.g., Copenhagen/standard).