Breakdown of Det er kun en uge siden, min tante fik gips på benet, så hun låner nu min søster en krykke.
Questions & Answers about Det er kun en uge siden, min tante fik gips på benet, så hun låner nu min søster en krykke.
Why does Danish say Det er kun en uge siden ...?
This is a very common Danish pattern for talking about how much time has passed since something happened.
- Det er kun en uge siden ... = It is only a week since ...
- Literally, Danish uses it is + time expression + since
So:
- Det er en uge siden = It’s been a week since
- Det er kun en uge siden = It’s only been a week since
The verb in the main part is present tense er, even though the event after siden happened in the past.
Why is there a comma after siden?
Because min tante fik gips på benet is a subordinate clause introduced by siden.
So the structure is:
- Det er kun en uge siden, ...
- ... min tante fik gips på benet
In modern Danish, this comma is often optional depending on the comma style being used. Many writers include it; many also write:
- Det er kun en uge siden min tante fik gips på benet ...
So if you see the comma here, it is not strange.
What exactly does fik mean here?
Fik is the past tense of få, which usually means get or receive.
So:
- få = get
- fik = got
In this sentence:
- min tante fik gips på benet = my aunt got a cast on her leg
This is a very natural way in Danish to describe someone ending up with a cast.
Why is it gips and not en gips?
Because gips is usually treated as an uncountable material noun, like plaster in English.
So Danish says:
- få gips på benet = get a cast on your leg
Even though English often uses a cast, Danish commonly uses just gips without an article in this kind of phrase.
You may also see more specific words in other contexts, but gips på benet is very normal everyday Danish.
Why does it say på benet and not på sit ben or på hendes ben?
Danish often uses the definite form with body parts when it is already obvious whose body part is meant.
So instead of saying:
- on her leg
Danish very often says:
- på benet = on the leg
This is especially common after prepositions and in everyday expressions about the body.
Compare:
- Han vasker hænderne = He washes his hands
- literally: He washes the hands
So fik gips på benet is completely natural Danish.
Why is it kun en uge and not kun én uge?
Both are possible, but they are not exactly the same in emphasis.
- en uge = a week / one week in a neutral way
- én uge = one week with extra emphasis on the number
In this sentence, kun en uge is the normal, neutral wording: only a week.
If you wrote kun én uge, it would stress that it was specifically one week and not more.
What does så mean here?
Here så means so or therefore.
It connects the two ideas:
- It has only been a week since her leg was put in a cast,
- so she is now lending my sister a crutch.
So this is not the time word så meaning then. It is the result/logic word:
- så = so / therefore
Why is the word order så hun låner nu ... and not something else?
Because så here is a coordinating conjunction, so the clause after it is still a normal main clause.
That means normal main-clause word order applies:
- hun = subject
- låner = finite verb
- nu = adverb
So:
- så hun låner nu min søster en krykke
is built like an ordinary statement.
A useful contrast:
- så hun låner nu ... = so she is now lending ...
- derfor låner hun nu ... = therefore she is now lending ...
With derfor, the word order changes because derfor takes the first position in the clause. With så, it does not work that way.
Why is nu placed after låner?
In a normal Danish main clause, when the subject comes first, the finite verb usually comes second.
So the basic pattern is:
- hun låner nu ...
not:
- hun nu låner ...
That is why nu comes after låner here.
Very roughly:
- hun = 1st element
- låner = 2nd element
- nu = later in the clause
This is part of the usual Danish V2 word order in main clauses.
Does låner mean borrows or lends here?
Here it means lends.
This is a famous Danish point: låne can mean both borrow and lend, depending on the structure.
Compare:
- Jeg låner en bog af ham = I borrow a book from him
- Jeg låner ham en bog = I lend him a book
In your sentence:
- hun låner nu min søster en krykke
there are two objects:
- min søster = the person receiving it
- en krykke = the thing being lent
So the meaning must be she is now lending my sister a crutch.
Why is it min søster en krykke without til?
Because låne can take an indirect object directly, just like English lend someone something.
So Danish can say:
- låne nogen noget
- literally: lend someone something
That is why:
- hun låner nu min søster en krykke
is perfectly natural.
You could think of the structure as:
- hun = subject
- låner = verb
- min søster = indirect object
- en krykke = direct object
Why is the second verb in the present tense: låner nu?
Because the sentence is talking about a current situation.
The first event happened in the past:
- min tante fik gips på benet
The second action is happening now:
- hun låner nu min søster en krykke
So Danish uses:
- past tense for the earlier event
- present tense for the current action
That combination is completely natural.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning DanishMaster Danish — from Det er kun en uge siden, min tante fik gips på benet, så hun låner nu min søster en krykke to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions