Jeg tager den anden bog, hvis denne er for svær.

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Breakdown of Jeg tager den anden bog, hvis denne er for svær.

• være: to be
• bogen: the book
• tage: to take

Questions & Answers about Jeg tager den anden bog, hvis denne er for svær.

Why is it den anden bog and not just anden bog?

In Danish, when an adjective comes before a definite noun, you usually need both:

• a definite article: den
• the adjective in its definite form: anden
• the noun: bog

So den anden bog means the other book or the second book.

Compare:

• en anden bog = another book
• den anden bog = the other/the second book

This is a very common Danish pattern:

• den store bil = the big car
• det gamle hus = the old house

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Does anden mean other or second here?

It can mean either, depending on context.

In den anden bog, anden can mean:

• the other book
• the second book

In this sentence, the natural meaning is usually the other book:
I’ll take the other book if this one is too difficult.

But grammatically, anden is the same word that can also mean second in the right context.

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