Enten har De abonnement på den kanal, eller også hører De hellere radio om aftenen.

It is the Danish pattern for either ... or ....

In this sentence:

• Enten = either
• eller også = or else / or alternatively

So the structure sets up two alternatives. Danish often uses enten ... eller ..., and enten ... eller også ... is also very common. The også makes the second option sound a little more explicit.

This is because Danish main clauses normally follow the verb-second rule.

That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position in the clause. If something else comes first, the subject moves after the verb.

So:

• Enten har De abonnement ...
  • Enten is in first position
  • therefore har comes second
  • then De

Similarly:

• ... eller også hører De hellere radio ...
  • the clause begins with også after the linker eller
  • so the verb hører comes before the subject De

This kind of inversion is extremely common in Danish.

De is the formal or polite word for you.

A few important points:

• De = formal you
• du = informal you
• The capital letter helps distinguish formal De from other words like de (they / them)

In modern everyday Danish, people usually say du, not De. So this sentence sounds polite, formal, or slightly old-fashioned.

An informal version would be:

Enten har du abonnement på den kanal, eller også hører du hellere radio om aftenen.

In Danish, the natural expression is have a subscription to something = have abonnement på something.

So:

• at have abonnement på en kanal
• literally: to have subscription on a channel
• naturally in English: to have a subscription to a channel

The preposition is just something you have to learn with the phrase. Danish often uses på where English uses to or something else.

There is also a related verb:

• at abonnere på = to subscribe to

So this sentence could also be rephrased with abonnere på.

This is a very good question, because Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun:

• en kanal = a channel
• kanalen = the channel

But den kanal is different. It usually means that channel or that particular channel.

So:

• kanalen = the channel
• den kanal = that channel

Using den kanal points more clearly to a specific channel already known from the context.

Hellere means rather or preferably. In this sentence it expresses preference:

• hører De hellere radio = do you prefer listening to the radio / would you rather listen to the radio

It is related to gerne:

• gerne = gladly / with pleasure / like to
• hellere = rather
• helst = preferably / most of all

So the sentence is contrasting two possibilities, and hellere shows that the second one is the preferred option.

Because høre radio is the normal idiomatic way to say listen to the radio.

Even though:

• høre literally means hear
• lytte (til) means listen (to)

Danish very often says:

• høre radio
• høre musik

where English would usually say listen to the radio or listen to music.

You can say lytte til radio, but høre radio is more everyday and more idiomatic in many contexts.

In Danish, høre radio is a fixed, general expression for the activity of listening to radio.

So:

• høre radio = listen to the radio / listen to radio
• høre radioen would usually sound more specific, as if you meant a particular radio set, station, or broadcast

This is similar to other general activity expressions, where English and Danish do not always use articles in the same way.

Om aftenen means in the evening or in the evenings, depending on context.

This is a common Danish time expression:

• om morgenen = in the morning(s)
• om dagen = during the day / in the daytime
• om aftenen = in the evening(s)
• om natten = at night

The definite form is normal in this pattern. It often refers to a general or repeated time period, not just one specific evening.

So here om aftenen most naturally means something like in the evenings or in the evening as a habit.

Do not confuse it with:

• i aften = this evening / tonight

Because eller også is a very common way to introduce the second alternative in a contrast.

Compare:

• Enten ..., eller ...
• Enten ..., eller også ...

Both are possible. The version with også often sounds a bit fuller or more natural in connected speech.

In English, it can feel a little like:

• either ..., or ...
• either ..., or else ...

But the Danish eller også is very normal and not necessarily dramatic.

Because the sentence contains two coordinated main clauses:

• Enten har De abonnement på den kanal
• eller også hører De hellere radio om aftenen

Danish normally separates such clauses with a comma. So the comma here is standard punctuation.

Even if English punctuation sometimes feels different, Danish commas are often used clearly between full coordinated clauses like these.