Indefinite Pronouns

Question 1

man

[man]

Answer 1

one / you

ONLY used as the subject in the sentence; as in ‘one must be kind to others’

Question 2

én

[een OR e-n] (een rhymes with ‘spleen’)

Answer 2

one / you / oneself

ONLY used as the object in the sentence; as in ‘It is nice when others think of you’

Question 3

ens

[eens OR e-ns] (eens rhymes with ‘spleens’)

Answer 3

one’s / your (as in ‘one’s pride can be one’s downfall’)

Question 4

TRUE OR FALSE:

In Danish, ‘Én’ can only be used as the OBJECT, and translates to ‘one’ or ‘you’.

Answer 4

TRUE
Example: ‘Det er dejligt når andre tænker på én’ (It is nice when others think of you). Here it is the object, since others think of the pronoun, and thus it is ‘én’ (rather than ‘man’).

Question 5

TRUE OR FALSE:

The word ‘ens’ is the possessive indefinite pronoun and translates to ‘your’ or ‘one’s’.

Answer 5

TRUE

Example: ‘Det er ikke altid godt når andre går ind i ens hjem’ (It is not always good when others go into one’s home)

Question 6

TRUE OR FALSE:
The apostrophe on én is optional, and you might also encounter it written with a double-e instead (een). It merely serves to differentiate it from the meaning of ‘a’ or ‘one’ (the number).

Answer 6

TRUE

Question 7

TRUE OR FALSE:

In Danish, ‘man’ is only used as the SUBJECT, and can be translated to ‘one’ or ‘you.’

Answer 7

TRUE
Example: ‘Man spiser ikke heste’ (you do not eat horses OR one does not eat horses). Here it is the subject and thus it is ‘man’ (rather than ‘én’).