Jeg varmer suppen i gryden.

I heat the soup in the pot.

Breakdown of Jeg varmer suppen i gryden.

• jeg: I
• i: in
• gryden: the pot
• suppen: the soup

Questions & Answers about Jeg varmer suppen i gryden.

Why is it suppen and not suppe?

Because Danish usually uses the definite form when English would say the soup.

• suppe = soup
• suppen = the soup

In this sentence, the soup is treated as a specific thing, so suppen is natural.

Danish often adds definiteness as an ending:

• en suppe = a soup
• suppen = the soup

Why is it gryden and not en gryde?

For the same reason: gryden is the definite form of gryde.

• en gryde = a pot
• gryden = the pot

So i gryden means in the pot.

A very common pattern in Danish is:

• en/et + noun for a/an
• noun + -en / -et for the

Here:

• gryde is a common-gender noun, so the definite ending is -n, giving gryden

Why is there no separate word for the, like in English?