Breakdown of Bilen larmer, så jeg lukker vinduet.
Questions & Answers about Bilen larmer, så jeg lukker vinduet.
In Danish, you typically put a comma between two independent clauses (main clauses) when they’re linked by a conjunction like så (so).
Here you have:
- Bilen larmer (main clause)
- så jeg lukker vinduet (another main clause introduced by så)
So the comma marks the boundary between the two clauses.
Here så means so / therefore, showing a consequence: The car is noisy, so I close the window.
Danish så can also mean then, depending on context:
- Consequence: Det regner, så jeg bliver hjemme. (It’s raining, so I stay home.)
- Sequence/time: Først spiser vi, så går vi. (First we eat, then we go.)
In your sentence it’s clearly the consequence meaning.
Both can occur, but they’re used differently:
- …, så jeg lukker vinduet. is very common when så introduces a clause that feels closely tied to the first clause (cause → effect) in a smooth, “spoken” way.
- …, så lukker jeg vinduet. can sound more like a new step or decision (“then/so I’ll close the window”), and it foregrounds the verb early.
Importantly: så does not force inversion the way some other connectors do. So så jeg lukker… is normal.
Yes, larmer is the present tense of the verb at larme (to make noise).
Danish present tense is often formed with -r:
- at larme → larmer
- at lukke → lukker
- at bo → bor
So Bilen larmer means “The car is making noise / is noisy.”
Danish usually expresses the by adding an ending to the noun (a “postposed definite article”):
- bil = a car
- bilen = the car (-en is the definite ending for common-gender nouns)
Compare:
- en bil = a car
- bilen = the car
So -en here is basically “the.”
Because vinduet is definite: the window. Danish marks definiteness on the noun:
- et vindue = a window
- vinduet = the window (-et is the definite ending for neuter nouns)
In this context, it’s usually a specific window that both speaker and listener can identify (e.g., the window in the car/room).
It depends on grammatical gender:
- Common gender (en-words) → definite -en: en bil → bilen
- Neuter gender (et-words) → definite -et: et vindue → vinduet
You generally have to learn the gender with the noun (like learning en bil, et vindue).
Danish present tense can cover both:
- I close
- I’m closing
- sometimes even a near-future sense (“I’ll close”)
jeg lukker vinduet can mean “I close the window” (habitually) or “I’m closing the window” (right now). Context decides.
Often yes, but there’s a nuance:
- larmer = makes noise / is noisy (can feel more general, sometimes more informal)
- støjer = makes noise in a “noise pollution / disturbing noise” sense; often implies it’s bothersome
In many everyday situations they’re interchangeable, but støjer can sound a bit more “this is disturbing noise.”
Most modern Danish writing keeps a comma between two main clauses like this, regardless of whether someone uses the “start comma” system. Here it’s a very standard comma: Bilen larmer, så jeg lukker vinduet.
In casual writing, some people drop commas more freely, but in correct written Danish you’d normally keep it.
You can often replace så with derfor (therefore), but the structure changes:
- Bilen larmer, så jeg lukker vinduet.
- Bilen larmer, derfor lukker jeg vinduet. (note: derfor tends to trigger verb-before-subject order in the second clause: derfor lukker jeg)
You would not normally use så derfor together here; it’s redundant.
jeg is the subject form (I), used when the pronoun is doing the action:
- jeg lukker = I close
mig is the object form (me), used when something is done to you or after many prepositions:
- Han ser mig. = He sees me.
- for mig = for me
In your sentence, “I” is the subject of lukker, so it must be jeg.