Hun hænger maleriet op med en hammer og to søm.

and

Breakdown of Hun hænger maleriet op med en hammer og to søm.

• en: a
• med: with
• hun: she

Questions & Answers about Hun hænger maleriet op med en hammer og to søm.

Why is it hænger ... op instead of one single word?

Because hænge op is a verb + particle combination, similar to English hang up or put up.

• hænge = to hang
• op = up

In Danish main clauses, the particle is often separated from the verb:

• Hun hænger maleriet op. = She hangs the painting up.

This is very common in Danish. Compare:

• Jeg tager jakken på. = I put the jacket on.
• Han skriver nummeret ned. = He writes the number down.

So hænger op belongs together in meaning, even though it is split in the sentence.

Why does op come after maleriet?

With these verb-particle combinations, the object often comes before the particle.

So Danish normally says:

• Hun hænger maleriet op.

rather than placing op immediately after the verb.

If the object is a pronoun, Danish usually puts the pronoun before the particle too:

• Hun hænger det op. = She hangs it up.

This is quite similar to English, where hang the painting up and hang it up are both natural, but Danish strongly favors the split pattern in sentences like this.

Why is it maleriet and not det maleri?