About This Lesson
Use Pointing and Ownership to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
Hvad er det her?
VAH air deh HAIR? What is this?
B
Hvad er det der?
VAH air deh DAIR? What is that?
A
Hvem er det?
VEM air deh? Who is that?
B
Hvilken er din?
VEL-kuhn air DEEN? Which one is yours?
A
Den her er min.
den HAIR air MEEN. This one is mine.
B
Den der er din.
den DAIR air DEEN. That one is yours.Word by Word
Hvad
Hvad means “what” here and begins questions asking you to identify something, as in Hvad er det her? and Hvad er det der? Reuse it at the start of a question when asking what something is. In this lesson, it is used while pointing to an unidentified thing.
er
Er means “is” here and connects the question or subject with what is being identified or described. It appears in Hvad er det her?, Hvad er det der?, Hvem er det?, Hvilken er din?, Den her er min., and Den der er din. Reuse er when saying what something or someone is, or who something belongs to.
det
Det refers to the thing or person being identified in Hvad er det her?, Hvad er det der?, and Hvem er det? It appears after er when the thing or person is not named. Reuse det in questions about an unidentified pointed thing or person.
her
Her means “here” and marks the thing as being at or near the speaker’s indicated place in Hvad er det her? It follows det in this question to distinguish the nearby item from the one described with der. Use her when pointing out something nearby.
der
Der means “there” and marks the thing as being at a place farther from the speaker or indicated as there in Hvad er det der? and Den der er din. Use der when pointing out or referring to something there rather than here. It can also be used in Den der to identify the selected item.
Hvem
Hvem means “who” and asks for the identity of a person in Hvem er det? It is used at the beginning of a question when the person has not been identified. Use Hvem when asking who someone is.
Hvilken
Hvilken means “which one” in Hvilken er din? and asks the listener to choose or identify one item from the available options. It appears at the beginning of the question before er. Use Hvilken when asking which item is the relevant one.
din
Din means “yours” here and says that an item belongs to the person being addressed, as in Hvilken er din? and Den der er din. It follows er in both the question and the statement. Use din when asking or stating that a selected item belongs to the listener.
Den
Den means “the one” in Den her er min. and Den der er din. It identifies a selected item, while her or der indicates which one is meant. Use Den her or Den der when pointing out one item among others.
min
Min means “mine” in Den her er min. and states that the selected item belongs to the speaker. It follows er after the item has been identified. Use min when saying that the item being discussed belongs to you.
Grammar Points
Hvad er det?
Hvad er det?
VAH air deh?What is it?
Danish uses the question word hvad before er to ask what something is.
Hvilken er din/min?
Hvilken er din?
VEL-kuhn air DEEN?Which one is yours?
Hvilken asks which one; din and min show possession and mean yours and mine.
Danish Vocabulary
den
pron
den
the one; that one
- Gender
- common
Den her er min.
der
adv
DAIR
there; that
Den der er din.
det
pron
deh
it; that
- Gender
- neuter
Hvem er det?
din
pron
DEEN
yours
Hvilken er din?
er
verb
air
is
Hvad er det der?
her
adv
HAIR
here; this
Den her er min.
hvad
pron
VAH
what
Hvad er det her?
hvem
pron
VEM
who
Hvem er det?
hvilken
pron
VEL-kuhn
which
Hvilken er din?
min
pron
MEEN
mine
Den her er min.
Quiz
Word Order
Arrange the words in the correct order.
What is this?
Show Answer
Hvad er det her?What is that?
Show Answer
Hvad er det der?Who is that?
Show Answer
Hvem er det?Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
what
Show Answer
hvadwho
Show Answer
hvemwhich
Show Answer
hvilkenmine