Det er huset, der ligger overfor stationen.

It is the building that is opposite the station.

Breakdown of Det er huset, der ligger overfor stationen.

• være: to be
• ligge: to be located
• det: it
• der: that

Questions & Answers about Det er huset, der ligger overfor stationen.

Why does the sentence start with Det er ...?

This is a very common Danish pattern called a cleft sentence.

• Det er huset ... literally looks like It is the house ...
• It is used to identify or emphasize something.
• In natural English, it often corresponds to It is the house that ...

Here, det does not refer to a specific thing. It is a dummy subject, just like it in English sentences such as It is John who called.

So the structure is:

• Det er X, der ...
• It is X that/who ...

Why is it huset and not hus?

Because Danish marks the at the end of the noun.

• et hus = a house
• huset = the house

The noun hus is a neuter noun, so its indefinite article is et. When it becomes definite, it takes -et:

• et hus → huset

So huset means the house.

What does der mean here? Does it mean there?