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Hvis hendes temperatur stadig er høj i aften, ringer hun til lægen.

Hvis hendes temperatur stadig er høj i aften, ringer hun til lægen.
If her temperature is still high tonight, she calls the doctor.

Breakdown of Hvis hendes temperatur stadig er høj i aften, ringer hun til lægen.

være
to be
hun
she
hvis
if
stadig
still
i aften
tonight
lægen
the doctor
høj
high
hendes
her
temperaturen
the temperature
ringe til
to call
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Questions & Answers about Hvis hendes temperatur stadig er høj i aften, ringer hun til lægen.

Why does the sentence start with Hvis, and what does it signal grammatically?

Hvis introduces a conditional subordinate clause (an if-clause). It tells you the first part is a condition, and the second part is what happens if that condition is true. So the structure is: Hvis + (condition), (result).

Why is there a comma after aften?

In Danish, it’s standard to put a comma between a subordinate clause and the main clause, especially when the subordinate clause comes first. Here, Hvis hendes temperatur stadig er høj i aften is the subordinate clause, so you get:

  • Hvis ... i aften, ringer hun ...

(Comma conventions vary a bit depending on the comma system, but this comma is very common and expected.)

Why is it ringer hun and not hun ringer?

Because Danish is a V2 (verb-second) language in main clauses. When something other than the subject comes first (here, the whole Hvis-clause), the finite verb in the main clause still has to be in position 2—so the verb comes before the subject:

  • Normal: Hun ringer til lægen.
  • After fronting: Hvis ..., ringer hun til lægen.
Is ringer present tense even though it refers to the future?

Yes. Danish often uses the present tense to talk about the future when the context makes it clear (especially with time words like i aften). So ringer hun can mean she will call.

What does stadig mean here, and where does it usually go in the sentence?

Stadig means still (continuing). It’s an adverb and typically appears in the middle field of the clause, often before the verb phrase/adjective it modifies:

  • temperatur stadig er høj = temperature is still high

You can sometimes move adverbs for emphasis, but this placement is very standard.

Why does Danish say hendes temperatur er høj instead of something like “she has a high temperature”?

Danish commonly expresses this with to be: temperaturen er høj (literally the temperature is high). You can also hear:

  • Hun har feber = She has a fever But hendes temperatur er høj is a more “measured/clinical” phrasing.
What is the role of hendes, and how is it different from sin/sit/sine?

Hendes means her (someone else’s, or simply her in general). Danish also has reflexive possessives sin/sit/sine, used when the owner is the subject of the same clause. Here, the subject of the if-clause is hendes temperatur (not hun), so hendes is fine and natural. If the sentence were phrased with hun as the subject inside that clause, you might see reflexive:

  • Hvis hun stadig har høj temperatur, ... (no possessive needed)
  • Or in other contexts: Hun vasker sine hænder (her own hands)
Why is it til lægen and not lægen directly?

Danish uses ringe til for “call (someone)”:

  • ringe til lægen = call the doctor It’s a fixed verb + preposition combination.
Why is it lægen (with -en at the end)?

Lægen means the doctor. The -en is the definite article suffix for common gender nouns:

  • en læge = a doctor
  • lægen = the doctor
Could you add så (like “then”) in the main clause?

Yes, you often can. Danish sometimes uses så to make the “then” relationship explicit:

  • Hvis hendes temperatur stadig er høj i aften, så ringer hun til lægen. It’s optional; without så the meaning is still clear.
Is i aften flexible in placement?

Fairly flexible, but placement can affect what sounds most natural. Common options:

  • Hvis hendes temperatur stadig er høj i aften, ringer hun til lægen. (very natural)
  • Hvis hendes temperatur stadig er høj, ringer hun til lægen i aften. (focuses the calling being tonight) Putting i aften inside the if-clause makes it sound like “if it’s still high tonight (by tonight).”
How do you pronounce some tricky words here: Hvis, stadig, ringer, lægen?

Approximate guidance (since accents vary):

  • Hvis: like English vis with a soft v sound at the start.
  • stadig: roughly STAY-thi (the d is soft; final -ig often sounds like a light ee).
  • ringer: RING-er (Danish r is guttural for many speakers).
  • lægen: LEH-yen / LEH-ghen (the g is soft; æ is like the vowel in English cat but more open/back for many speakers).