Hun siger, at det der hul er for stort til en lille krog.

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Breakdown of Hun siger, at det der hul er for stort til en lille krog.

• stor: big
• være: to be
• lille: small

Questions & Answers about Hun siger, at det der hul er for stort til en lille krog.

Why is it det der hul instead of just det hul?

Det der hul is a common way to say that hole in Danish, often with a slightly pointing or emphatic feel, like that hole there in English.

• det matches the gender of hul because hul is neuter: et hul
• der adds the demonstrative sense: that one

You can also say det hul in some contexts, but det der hul is very common in everyday Danish when you are clearly pointing something out.

Is der here the same as English there?

Not exactly, even though it is related historically.

In this sentence, der is part of the demonstrative expression det der. You usually understand det der hul as one unit meaning that hole.

Depending on stress and context, it can feel like:

• that hole
• that hole there

So it is not mainly functioning as a location word here.

Why isn't it det der hullet?