Breakdown of Politikern möter drottningen, men denna avslår förslaget.
men
but
förslaget
the suggestion
politikern
the politician
möta
to meet (encounter, come face to face)
avslå
to reject (a proposal, request)
drottningen
the queen
denna
the latter (f)
Questions & Answers about Politikern möter drottningen, men denna avslår förslaget.
Why use denna here instead of a regular pronoun like hon?
In this formal context, denna functions as an independent pronoun meaning 'the latter'. It specifically points back to the last mentioned noun (drottningen). While hon could also work, denna is used in formal writing to completely eliminate ambiguity, which is especially useful if both people mentioned share the same gender.
Why does this sentence use denna instead of denne?
When referring to people, denne is used exclusively for males, while denna is used for females. Since 'the latter' in this sentence is drottningen (the queen), denna is the required form.
Is it common to use denna this way in everyday spoken Swedish?
No, using denna as an independent pronoun to mean 'the latter' is highly formal. You will mostly encounter it in written Swedish, such as literature, news, or official texts. In everyday conversation, a Swede would almost always just say hon.
If denna means 'the latter', how would I say 'the former' if it was the politician who rejected the proposal?
You would use den förra. In formal Swedish, den förra refers to the first subject mentioned ('the former'), while denna (or sometimes den senare) refers to the most recently mentioned one ('the latter').
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