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- "The woman is an author."
"The woman is an author."
Translation:Kvinden er en forfatter.
9 Comments
I'm taking a danish class in addition to duolingo, and i was told never to use en/et before a job when it follows "er" (i.e. "han er forfatter", ikke " han er en forfatter"). Was i taught wrong?
you both (dtgerhardt & jnwulff) are right, and I am thankful because It makes me do a research!! look what I've found in a Grammar book: ""NO ARTICLES With nouns denoting nationality, profession, religion or political beliefs BUT In some cases a figurative use of the noun is indicated by the use of the indefinite article. Compare: "Coco var klovn". Coco was a clown (literal=occupation). VS "Søren var en klovn". Søren was a clown (figurative=was a fool).""
Yes and no. "Han er forfatter" is better than "han er en forfatter". But it is not wrong to write "en"
But in "han er en forfatter der skriver bøger" (he is an author that writes books) or "han er en god forfatter" (he is a good author) you need "en" and it is wrong if you forget it
Someone in other comments said, it is possible to use both. But I ain't no teacher, just telling what I have heard :) On the other hand, this course was made by native danes, so they better not have screwed up with this whole "Occupations" topic regarding your question. :D nah, I trust them. :>
I'm curious if anybody knows the etymology behind the word forfatter. The English Author seems to link to most other European languages, but Scandinavia has another word for it.
It is from the German word "verfasser" around 1740. before that the Latin "autor" had been used
In dutch, "schrijver" is used, and I see parallels with the verb skriver. Are there any synonyms that are used like that?
"En skriver" is someone that has written something.
Long time ago "en skriver" was someone who's job was to write stuff. (I imagen someone working for a knight when "en skriver" is used like that)
En skribent is someone who writes professionally for a newspaper
Literally 'a scribe'. Some organizations today have that as an honorary title but actual job. Boy Scouts come to mind.
