Breakdown of Prinsen träffar drottningen. Denna ska efterträda monarken.
ska
will
träffa
to meet
prinsen
the prince
drottningen
the queen
Questions & Answers about Prinsen träffar drottningen. Denna ska efterträda monarken.
Who exactly does Denna refer to here, and why?
Denna acts as a formal independent pronoun referring back to the most recently mentioned noun of common gender (an en-word). Here, it specifically points to drottningen (the queen), functioning just like the English phrase 'the latter'.
Could we just use Hon instead of Denna?
Yes, you could use Hon (She) to refer to the queen. However, Denna is highly useful in formal writing because it strictly points to the nearest preceding noun. This completely removes any ambiguity if there had been multiple people of the same gender in the previous sentence.
If we wanted to refer back to Prinsen instead, would we use Denne?
Yes. Denne is the masculine form. However, because Prinsen is the subject of the first sentence, you would typically just use Han (He) to keep talking about him. Denna and denne are mostly used to grab the object of the previous sentence and make it the subject of the new one.
Why use ska efterträda instead of kommer att efterträda for 'will succeed'?