Min veninde lægger sin notatbog og en blå kuglepen på bordet før forelæsningen.

My female friend puts her notebook and a blue ballpoint pen on the table before the lecture.

Breakdown of Min veninde lægger sin notatbog og en blå kuglepen på bordet før forelæsningen.

• og: and
• en: a
• på: on
• bordet: the table

Questions & Answers about Min veninde lægger sin notatbog og en blå kuglepen på bordet før forelæsningen.

Does veninde specifically mean a female friend?

Yes. Veninde means female friend, while ven means male friend or sometimes just friend in a more general sense.

So min veninde is specifically my female friend. It does not normally mean my girlfriend in the romantic sense; for that, Danish usually uses kæreste.

Why is it min veninde and not mit veninde or mine veninde?

Because veninde is a singular common-gender noun, also called an en-word.

Danish possessives agree with the noun they go with:

• min
  • common gender singular
• mit
  • neuter singular
• mine
  • plural

So:

• min veninde
• mit bord
• mine venner

Why is there no article before notatbog in sin notatbog?

Because a possessive already acts as the determiner.

In Danish, you normally do not combine a possessive with en/et in this kind of phrase. So:

• sin notatbog = her own notebook
• not sin en notatbog

This works like English:

• her notebook
• not her a notebook