Hvis kaninens pote stadig gør ondt i morgen, ringer jeg til dyrlægen.

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Breakdown of Hvis kaninens pote stadig gør ondt i morgen, ringer jeg til dyrlægen.

• til: to
• i morgen: tomorrow
• hvis: if

Questions & Answers about Hvis kaninens pote stadig gør ondt i morgen, ringer jeg til dyrlægen.

Why does the sentence start with hvis?

Hvis means if and introduces a condition.

So the first part, Hvis kaninens pote stadig gør ondt i morgen, is the if-clause:

• If the rabbit’s paw still hurts tomorrow

The second part, ringer jeg til dyrlægen, is the result:

• I’ll call the vet

Danish uses hvis very much like English if in this kind of sentence.

Why is it kaninens and not kaninen?

Kaninens is the genitive form, meaning the rabbit’s.

• kaninen = the rabbit
• kaninens = the rabbit’s

Danish usually forms possession by adding -s, similar to English apostrophe + s, but without an apostrophe.

So:

• kaninens pote = the rabbit’s paw

Also notice that you do not add another word for the before kaninens. The possession is already built into the phrase.

Why is it pote and not another word like fod or ben?

Pote is the natural word for an animal’s paw.

Compare:

• pote = paw
• fod = foot
• ben = leg

For a rabbit, dog, or cat, pote is the most idiomatic choice if you mean the paw specifically.