Breakdown of Min søster prøver at trøste hende, når sutten falder på gulvet.
på
on
min
my
når
when
falde
to fall
Questions & Answers about Min søster prøver at trøste hende, når sutten falder på gulvet.
Why is it min søster and not min søsteren?
In Danish, a possessive like min, din, hans, hendes, etc. usually replaces the article. So:
- min søster = my sister
- not min søsteren
You normally do not use both a possessive and the suffixed definite ending together in this kind of phrase.
Why is there at in prøver at trøste?
After many verbs in Danish, the next verb appears in the infinitive, often with at.
Here:
- prøver = tries / is trying
- at trøste = to comfort
So prøver at trøste means tries to comfort.
This is very similar to English try to do something.
Why is it hende and not hun?
Because hende is the object form of the pronoun, while hun is the subject form.
- hun = she
- hende = her
In this sentence, the sister is doing the comforting, and her is receiving the action, so Danish uses hende.
Compare:
- Hun trøster barnet. = She comforts the child.
- Barnet ser hende. = The child sees her.