Saltet gør suppen bedre.

The salt makes the soup better.

Breakdown of Saltet gør suppen bedre.

• bedre: better
• gøre: to make
• suppen: the soup
• saltet: the salt

Questions & Answers about Saltet gør suppen bedre.

Why is there a -t at the end of salt (saltet)?

Because salt is a neuter (intetkøn) noun in Danish. Neuter nouns take the definite singular ending -et (or sometimes -t after certain endings).

• et salt = a salt / some salt (indefinite)
• saltet = the salt (definite)
  So saltet is “the salt” (or “salt” in a generic sense, depending on context).

Does saltet mean “the salt” or just “salt” (in general)?

Grammatically it’s definite: the salt. But Danish often uses the definite form for general statements, similar to English using the bare noun:

• Saltet gør suppen bedre. can mean “Salt makes the soup better.” (salt in general)
  Context decides whether you mean a specific salt on the table or salt as a concept.

Why is the verb gør and not something like gører or gør + ending?

Danish verbs don’t conjugate for person/number the way English used to (I make / he makes). The present tense usually ends in -r, but gøre is irregular:

• infinitive: at gøre (to do/make)
• present: gør
• past: gjorde
  So gør already means “makes/does”.

What’s the difference between gøre meaning “do” and “make” here?

Gøre is used very broadly, like “do/make” in English. In this sentence it’s the “make” sense: “to make something (adjective)”.
Pattern: X gør Y (adjective) = “X makes Y (adjective)”
So: Saltet gør suppen bedre = “Salt makes the soup better.”

Why is there no word like “it” or “the soup” repeated—just suppen once?

Danish often states the object just once, same as English: “Salt makes the soup better.” No pronoun is needed because the object is explicitly there: suppen.

Why is suppen definite (-en)?

Because suppe is a common gender (fælleskøn) noun. Common gender nouns take the definite singular ending -en:

• en suppe = a soup
• suppen = the soup
  The sentence is talking about “the soup” in question (the one you’re eating/cooking).

How do I know whether a noun takes -en or -et in the definite form?

You have to learn the noun’s gender with its indefinite article:

• en-words → definite -en (e.g., en suppe → suppen)
• et-words → definite -et (e.g., et salt → saltet)
  There are patterns, but many nouns just have to be memorized with en/et.

What does bedre mean grammatically—why not god or bedst?

Bedre is the comparative form of god (“good”):

• god = good
• bedre = better
• bedst = best
  After verbs like gøre in this pattern, you commonly use a comparative if you mean “improves”: “makes (it) better.”

Shouldn’t there be end (“than”) if it’s comparative?

Not necessarily. Bedre can be used without an explicit comparison, like English “This makes it better.” If you want to add the comparison, you can:

• Saltet gør suppen bedre end før. = “Salt makes the soup better than before.”

Why is the word order Saltet gør suppen bedre and not Saltet gør bedre suppen?

In Danish, the normal order in a main clause is:
Subject – Verb – Object – (adjective/complement)
So suppen (object) comes before bedre (the complement describing the object). Bedre suppen would sound wrong because bedre isn’t an adjective placed directly before a noun here; it’s a result description (“makes the soup better”).

Is this sentence using the Danish “V2 rule”?

Yes. Danish main clauses follow verb-second (V2) word order: the finite verb (here gør) is in the second position.
Here the first position is the subject Saltet, so the verb naturally comes next.

Could I also say Salt gør suppen bedre without the definite ending?

Yes, and it’s common if you’re talking about salt in general as an uncountable substance. Both can work depending on nuance:

• Salt gør suppen bedre. = “Salt makes the soup better.” (generic)
• Saltet gør suppen bedre. = “The salt makes the soup better.” or a generic statement with definite form (also possible in Danish)

Why is it suppen and not suppet?

Because suppe is an en-word (common gender): en suppe. Neuter would be et-word nouns and take -et in the definite form, but suppe doesn’t.

Do I need to pronounce the final -t in saltet?

Yes, the t is pronounced, but softly. In careful speech you’ll hear something like SAL-tet with a clear final t sound. Danish consonants can be less “exploded” than in English, but the t is still there.

Why is there no extra word for “more” (like “more better”)?

Danish forms many comparatives as single words, just like English “better” (not “more good”). So bedre already contains the “more” meaning.