Hvis lynlåsen sidder fast, tager jeg en anden jakke.

I

Breakdown of Hvis lynlåsen sidder fast, tager jeg en anden jakke.

• tage: to take
• hvis: if
• jakken: the jacket

Questions & Answers about Hvis lynlåsen sidder fast, tager jeg en anden jakke.

Why does the sentence start with hvis?

Hvis means if and introduces a condition.

So Hvis lynlåsen sidder fast = If the zipper is stuck.

It introduces a subordinate clause, which matters for the word order in the rest of the sentence.

Why is lynlåsen one word?

Danish often forms compound nouns as a single word.

• lyn = lightning
• lås = lock
• lynlås = zipper

Then -en is added to make it definite:

• en lynlås = a zipper
• lynlåsen = the zipper

So lynlåsen literally breaks down as the zipper.

Why is it lynlåsen and not something like den lynlås?

In Danish, the definite form of a noun is usually made by adding an ending to the noun itself.

For common-gender nouns:

• en jakke = a jacket

• jakken = the jacket

• en lynlås = a zipper
• lynlåsen = the zipper

Using den is possible in some contexts, but usually when there is an adjective:

• den nye jakke = the new jacket

Without an adjective, Danish normally prefers the suffixed definite form:

• lynlåsen, not usually den lynlås