Efter lokalbedøvelsen fylder tandlægen hullet og tjekker tandfyldningen.

After the local anaesthetic, the dentist fills the cavity and checks the tooth filling.

Breakdown of Efter lokalbedøvelsen fylder tandlægen hullet og tjekker tandfyldningen.

• og: and
• efter: after
• tjekke: to check
• tandlægen: the dentist

Questions & Answers about Efter lokalbedøvelsen fylder tandlægen hullet og tjekker tandfyldningen.

Why does the sentence start with Efter lokalbedøvelsen, and why is fylder placed before tandlægen?

This is because Danish follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb must come in the second position.

The sentence begins with the time phrase Efter lokalbedøvelsen = After the local anesthetic. Since that phrase takes the first position, the verb fylder must come next, and the subject tandlægen comes after it.

So the structure is:

Efter lokalbedøvelsen | fylder | tandlægen | hullet ...

If you started with the subject instead, you would get:

Tandlægen fylder hullet efter lokalbedøvelsen ...

That is also grammatical, but it gives a slightly different emphasis.

Why is it lokalbedøvelsen and not lokalbedøvelse?

Lokalbedøvelse means local anesthetic / local anesthesia in the indefinite form.

Lokalbedøvelsen is the definite form, meaning the local anesthetic or the local anesthesia.

In Danish, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun instead of using a separate word like the:

• en lokalbedøvelse = a local anesthetic
• lokalbedøvelsen = the local anesthetic

Here, the sentence refers to a specific procedure already understood in the situation, so the definite form is natural.