fastslå

Fastslå is a Danish verb meaning to determine, establish, or confirm something with certainty. It is used when a fact or conclusion is asserted as true based on evidence, analysis, or authority. In formal writing, statements are often framed as things that have been fastslået or fastslået through investigation or evaluation.

The verb is common in legal, scientific, administrative, and journalistic contexts. Examples include analyzing data to fastslå a result, or a court ruling that fastslår a sentence or legal point. In everyday Danish, it can describe deducing a fact from available information or confirming a claim after review.

Etymologyally, fastslå appears to combine elements related to firmness or fixedness (fast) with a sense associated with applying or bringing about (slå). The nuance is that something is made fixed in truth or fact through careful verification.

Grammar and usage notes: fastslå is a regular verb in many tenses. The present tense is fastslår, the past tense is fastslog, and the supine is fastslået (often used with forskellige auxiliary verbs, e.g., har fastslået). The passive or participial forms are common in formal prose, as in “er fastslået” or “blev fastslået.”

See also: fastlægge (to determine) and konstatere (to state as fact). These terms share semantic space with fastslå but are used in slightly different emphases: fastslå emphasizes establishing a verified fact, while fastlægge emphasizes fixing or determining guidelines, rules, or schedules.