Greek to Danish: a question can need an explicit subject even when the source verb identifies it
A short Greek question may contain no separate you
Greek finite verbs mark person and number. A short question such as Έρχεσαι; can ask whether the listener is coming without a separate εσύ. A Danish translation must preserve that listener as the subject through the target question construction rather than reproduce the source’s small number of words at all costs.
The Greek overview distinguishes finite person and number forms and describes several word-order possibilities supported by case marking. Its ordinary finite verb therefore contributes participant information in addition to the event. An absent independent pronoun is not evidence that the source question concerns an unspecified person.
The Danish overview states that, in verb-initial main clauses, the subject follows the finite verb and comes before negation. The original short example Kommer du? illustrates a question to the listener. Here du supplies the subject reference that the Greek verb ending can identify without an additional word. Its presence does not make the Danish sentence more emphatic by itself.
Negation belongs with the proposition, not with a missing actor
Adding negation gives an original contrast such as Kommer du ikke? compared with Kommer du? The subject remains the listener in both. A translation of a negative Greek question must keep that participant while expressing the negative proposition in the appropriate Danish position. Simply adding ikke to a sequence copied from Greek would not ensure the target question is constructed correctly.
Imagine a Greek message asking whether the recipient is coming while mentioning another person in the preceding sentence. If the target leaves out the subject reference, the reader may have to guess whether the question continues about that third person or turns to the recipient. The source person ending can settle the issue; the Danish translation should express the same resolution rather than recreate ambiguity absent from the source.
The distinction between subject and object matters as well. A Greek weak pronoun accompanying a verb may identify a recipient or object instead of the actor. The target subject cannot be chosen merely by selecting whichever pronoun is easiest to recognize in the source text. First identify the finite verb’s participant and then the role of any additional Greek pronouns.
Danish modals in the cited overview combine with a bare infinitive. In a question involving one of these verbs, the first finite element and the following lexical action have different grammatical roles. The subject’s position relates to the finite question construction, not simply to the main action’s dictionary word. Preserving the source participant is therefore a sentence-level task rather than a one-word substitution.
For a brief Greek question, identify who is coming, acting, or being asked about before comparing word order. Then express that person in a Danish question with the subject and any negation in their appropriate relationships. A target subject pronoun can carry information already present in Greek morphology; adding it need not add contrastive stress or change a neutral question into an accusation.
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