Basic evaluation, size, and difficulty | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Det her er meget godt.

   This is very good.

   Det her

   this

   er

   is

   meget

   very

   godt

   good

   More detail

   Det her means “this” here and is a Danish demonstrative expression. It points to something understood in the situation; the supplied translation identifies it only as “this,” without specifying what it is. Det is the neuter singular form used here, while her adds the meaning “here,” emphasizing something present or nearby. Example: Det her er nyt. — “This is new.” er is the present-tense form of at være, “to be.” Danish uses er with all persons and numbers in the present: jeg er (“I am”), du er (“you are”), and de er (“they are”). Example: Det er vigtigt. — “That/It is important.” meget means “very” in this sentence and intensifies the following adjective. It is also used with uncountable nouns to mean “much,” but that is a different use. With countable plural nouns, Danish commonly uses mange (“many”) instead. Example: Hun er meget glad. — “She is very happy.” godt means “good” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective god; the common-gender singular form is god, and the plural form is gode. The form godt is used because the subject expression Det her is neuter singular, and the predicative adjective agrees with that subject. Example: Et godt svar. — “A good answer.” Together, Det her identifies something as “this,” er states what it is like, meget strengthens the description, and godt supplies that description. The whole utterance therefore means “This is very good.” A reusable pattern is Det her er meget + neuter adjective (“This is very + adjective”).

2. Det er ikke godt.

   That is not good.

   Det

   that

   er

   is

   ikke

   not

   godt

   good

   More detail

   Det means “that” here and functions as the subject. In Danish, det is the neuter singular form used for a neuter singular referent; the exact thing it refers to is supplied by the situation rather than by this sentence alone. A useful related form is den, used with common-gender singular nouns. er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”). The reusable pattern Det er ... means “That is ...” or, depending on context, “It is ...”. ikke means “not” and normally comes before the word or phrase being negated. Here it negates godt, so the sentence says that the subject is not good. godt means “good” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective god; the common-gender singular form is god, and the plural form is gode. The form godt agrees with the neuter singular subject det in this sentence. Example: Det er godt. — “That is good.” Together, Det er ikke godt. means “That is not good.” The structure is Det + present-tense er + negation ikke + the agreeing adjective godt. This is a straightforward, reusable way to give a negative evaluation.

3. Det her er for stort.

   This is too big.

   Det her

   this

   er

   is

   for

   too

   stort

   big

   More detail

   Det her means “this” for a nearby or currently indicated thing. Det is the neuter singular form of the demonstrative pronoun; her adds the sense “here,” marking proximity. The exact referent is not identified by the sentence itself. Compare the reusable pattern Det her er ... (“This is ...”). er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”). It is used here to link Det her with the description that follows. Example: Det her er godt. — “This is good.” for is a degree adverb meaning “too” when it marks an excessive degree before an adjective. The pattern for + adjective expresses that something exceeds a suitable or wanted degree; it does not simply mean “very.” stort means “big” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective stor (“big”): stor with a common-gender singular noun, stort with a neuter singular noun, and store in several plural or definite contexts. The -t in stort agrees with the neuter singular demonstrative det; singularity alone does not determine this form. Example: Det her er stort. — “This is big.” Together, Det her + er identifies the nearby thing as the subject, and for stort describes its excessive size. Thus Det her er for stort. means “This is too big.”

4. Det her er for lille.

   This is too small.

   Det her

   this

   er

   is

   for

   too

   lille

   small

   More detail

   Det her means “this” here. det is a neuter singular demonstrative form, and her adds the meaning “here,” making the expression proximal. The expression can be used on its own or before a neuter noun phrase, as in det her hus (“this house”). The sentence does not identify the specific thing being referred to. er is the present-tense form of Danish være (“to be”). It does not change for person or number: jeg er means “I am,” while de er means “they are.” for means “too” here. It marks a degree that exceeds what is suitable or wanted. This differs from meget (“very”), which increases degree without by itself expressing excess. lille means “small” here. It is the positive form of the adjective; the comparative is mindre (“smaller”), and the superlative is mindst (“smallest”). In this sentence, lille is the predicate adjective associated with det. Danish uses lille in singular contexts, while the plural form is små. Example: Huset er lille. — “The house is small.” Together, Det her (“this”) + er (“is”) + for lille (“too small”) gives “This is too small.” The reusable pattern X er for + adjective expresses that X has an excessive degree of a quality. Example: Tasken er for tung. — “The bag is too heavy.”

5. Det er meget nemt.

   It is very easy.

   Det er

   It is

   meget

   very

   nemt

   easy

   More detail

   Det er is a reusable Danish pattern meaning “it is” in this sentence. er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”); the same form is used with singular and plural subjects in the present tense. Here det functions as the subject of the evaluation, without a more specific noun being identified. meget is an adverb meaning “very” here. It intensifies the adjective that follows: meget nemt means “very easy.” It can also modify other adjectives, as in the example Det er meget svært. — “It is very difficult.” nemt means “easy” here and is the neuter singular form of the adjective nem. Danish adjectives commonly have a neuter singular form ending in -t when they describe an et-word or a corresponding det; the form is therefore nemt in this sentence, not the common-gender form nem. For comparison, nemmere means “easier” and nemmest means “easiest.” Example: Det er nemt. — “It is easy.” Together, Det er (“It is”), meget (“very”), and nemt (“easy”) form the complete meaning “It is very easy.”

6. Det er meget svært.

   It is very difficult.

   Det er

   it is

   meget

   very

   svært

   difficult

   More detail

   Det er is a reusable way to say “it is” in the present tense. er is the present form of være (“to be”). Here det functions as the subject of an impersonal statement; the sentence does not identify a separate concrete thing that it refers to. meget means “very” and intensifies the adjective that follows it. It comes before the adjective, as in meget interessant (“very interesting”). svært means “difficult” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective svær. The common-gender form is also svær, as in en svær opgave (“a difficult task”), while svært agrees with the neuter singular det in this impersonal construction. Useful comparison forms are sværere (“more difficult”) and sværest (“most difficult”). Together, Det er + meget + svært produces “It is very difficult.” The pattern Det er meget + adjective can be reused with other adjectives. Example: Det er meget vigtigt. — “It is very important.”