Jeg forstår holdningen bedre, når hun forklarer den roligt.

I understand the view better when she explains it calmly.

Breakdown of Jeg forstår holdningen bedre, når hun forklarer den roligt.

• jeg: I
• når: when
• den: it
• hun: she

Questions & Answers about Jeg forstår holdningen bedre, når hun forklarer den roligt.

Why is it holdningen and not en holdning?

Holdningen is the definite form, meaning the attitude / the opinion / the stance rather than an attitude.

In Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun:

• en holdning = an attitude, an opinion
• holdningen = the attitude, the opinion

So this sentence is talking about a specific attitude that is already known from the context.

Why does the sentence use den later on?

Den refers back to holdningen.

So instead of repeating the noun, Danish uses an object pronoun:

• holdningen = the attitude/opinion
• den = it

This is very similar to English:

• I understand the attitude better when she explains it calmly.

Because holdning is a common-gender noun, the pronoun is den, not det.

Why is it den and not det?

Danish nouns belong to one of two grammatical genders:

• common gender → usually takes en and later den
• neuter gender → usually takes et and later det

Holdning is a common-gender noun:

• en holdning
• holdningen
• den

So den is the correct pronoun.