Basic Possession and Ability | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic possession and ability..

EN → DA / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic Possession and Ability to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Jeg har den her.

YAI hah dehn HAIR. I have this one.
B

Jeg har den ikke.

YAI hah dehn EG-uh. I do not have it.
A

Jeg kan gøre det.

YAI kan GUH-uh deh. I can do it.
B

Jeg kan ikke gøre det.

YAI kan EG-uh GUH-uh deh. I cannot do it.
A

Kan du hjælpe mig?

KAN doo YEL-buh my? Can you help me?
B

Kan du gøre det her?

KAN doo GUH-uh deh HAIR? Can you do this?

Word by Word

Jeg “Jeg” means “I” in these sentences and identifies the speaker. It appears at the beginning of “Jeg har den her.”, “Jeg har den ikke.”, “Jeg kan gøre det.”, and “Jeg kan ikke gøre det.”. A useful reuse pattern is “Jeg har ...” or “Jeg kan ...” when stating what you have or can do.
har “har” means “have” in “Jeg har den her.” and “Jeg har den ikke.”. It expresses possession here, and the same form is used with both the positive and negative statement. Reuse it in the pattern “Jeg har ...” with the thing you have.
den “den” refers to the item being discussed in “Jeg har den her.” and “Jeg har den ikke.”. In “den her”, it is part of the expression meaning “this one”; in “den ikke”, it refers back to the item that is not available. Use “Jeg har den ...” when referring to a specific item.
her “her” contributes the meaning “this” in the expression “den her”, so “den her” means “this one”. It helps identify the particular item the speaker has. Use the complete pattern “den her” when pointing out a specific item.
ikke “ikke” means “not” and makes the statement negative in “Jeg har den ikke.” and “Jeg kan ikke gøre det.”. It comes after the object in the first sentence and after “kan” in the second. Reuse it to negate a statement, as in the dialogue patterns “Jeg har ... ikke” and “Jeg kan ikke ...”.
kan “kan” expresses ability in “Jeg kan gøre det.” and “Jeg kan ikke gøre det.”, while capitalized “Kan” begins the requests “Kan du hjælpe mig?” and “Kan du gøre det her?”. The word stays the same apart from capitalization at the start of a sentence. Use “Jeg kan ...” to say what you can do and “Kan du ...?” to ask whether someone can do something.
gøre “gøre” means “do” in “Jeg kan gøre det.”, “Jeg kan ikke gøre det.”, and “Kan du gøre det her?”. It follows “kan” in each expression and names the action being discussed. Reuse the pattern “kan ... gøre ...” when talking about being able to do an action.
det “det” refers to the task or thing in “Jeg kan gøre det.” and “Jeg kan ikke gøre det.”. In “gøre det her”, the complete expression refers to doing this, while “det” itself is part of that expression. Use “gøre det” when referring to a task already understood from the conversation.
du “du” means “you” in the questions “Kan du hjælpe mig?” and “Kan du gøre det her?”. It identifies the person being asked to help or do something. Reuse the question pattern “Kan du ...?” when making a direct request.
hjælpe “hjælpe” means “help” in “Kan du hjælpe mig?”. It names the action requested from the other person and is followed by “mig”, the person receiving the help. Use “Kan du hjælpe mig?” as a practical request for assistance.
mig “mig” means “me” in “Kan du hjælpe mig?”. It identifies the speaker as the person who should receive the help. Reuse it after an action when you are the person affected, as in the dialogue expression “hjælpe mig”.

Grammar Points

den her

Jeg har den her.

YAI hah dehn HAIR.

I have this one.

“Den her” means “this one” and is a common Danish demonstrative phrase.

ikke før objektet

Jeg har ikke den her.

YAI hah EG-uh dehn HAIR.

I do not have this one.

In this simple sentence, “ikke” comes after the verb and before the object.

Danish Vocabulary

den pron
dehn it; that one
den her phrase
dehn HAIR this one
det pron
deh it; that
du pron
doo you
gøre verb
GUH-uh do
har verb
hah have
her adv
hair here
hjælpe verb
YEL-buh help
ikke adv
EG-uh not
jeg pron
yai I
mig pron
my me

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I have this one.

Show AnswerJeg har den her.

I do not have it.

Show AnswerJeg har den ikke.

I can do it.

Show AnswerJeg kan gøre det.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

help

Show Answerhjælpe

do

Show Answergøre

not

Show Answerikke

have

Show Answerhar