"Det tales der aldrig om."

Translation:It is never spoken of.

January 26, 2015

10 Comments
This discussion is locked.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/rachabake

What is the function of "der" in this sentence?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/epac-mcl

Hi rachabake. Briefly, the word "der" in this sentence is a pronoun, and is linked with the word "tales". (Der tales = there talks/there is being talked). Literally translated "Det tales der aldrig om" is in English, "It talks there never about", meaning, "It is never talked of/about". So "der" represents the "is" in the English sentence. http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?select=der,2=der (When in the link, write "der" in the search field, then scroll through the various explanations. Note the three versions to the right of the page.)


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/epac-mcl

"It is never talked of", is also another translation, which was rejected. It is quite common to hear people in the UK say "of", as well as "about".


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/FyodorPavlovich

Would you prefer saying 'talked of' or 'spoken'? Not saying you are wrong, just curious, as I don't think I've heard 'talked of'.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/epac-mcl

Sorry for the delay FyodorPavlovich. I've been layed up in hospital for the past two and a half weeks. I wouldn't say that I prefer saying "talked of", but that this is an equally valid expression as "talked about", "spoken of" and "spoken about". There could be variations depending on the context, but would require a lengthy explanation here, and anyway, the differences are very little.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/FyodorPavlovich

Hey, no worries mate. Naturally there can be variations; I'm just wondering about usage in other regions. I'm pretty much set the phrases to "speak of/with" and "talk about/to".


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Mingan8

Can someone explain the word order here? Other sentences in this skill start with der (Der tales aldrig om det). This seems like the right words were written in a random order.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/CelineSlowTurtle

'Der tales aldrig om det' means 'There is never talked about it', where 'Det tales der aldrig om' means 'It is never talked about'. There is a subtle difference, but the first is used like in an argument and the second is used casually like 'oh, it is never really talked about'. I don't know if it is understandable, but I hope it helped.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/nfsmit

Reported: "det bliver aldrig omtalt" should be accepted.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/NZydGiaV

Is "it is not talked about" actually wro

Learn Danish in just 5 minutes a day. For free.