Word
I det lille rum ligger der allerede en madras på gulvet.
Meaning
In the small room there is already a mattress on the floor.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about I det lille rum ligger der allerede en madras på gulvet.
Why does the sentence start with I det lille rum?
That part is a prepositional phrase meaning in the small room.
- i = in
- det lille rum = the small room
Danish often moves a place phrase to the front of the sentence to set the scene or emphasize location. English can do this too:
- In the small room, there is already a mattress on the floor.
When something other than the subject comes first in a Danish main clause, the word order changes because of the verb-second rule.
Why is it det lille rum and not den lille rum?
Because rum is a neuter noun in Danish.
Danish nouns usually have one of two genders:
- common gender → takes en
- neuter → takes et
Since the noun is et rum (a room), the definite form in this structure is det:
- et rum = a room
- det rum = that/the room
- det lille rum = the small room
If the noun were common gender, you would use den instead.
Why is it lille and not lillet?