Basic Possession and Ability | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg har den her.

   I have this one.

   Jeg

   I

   har

   have

   den her

   this one

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the subject of the clause. For example: Jeg læser — “I am reading.” har is the present-tense form of have, meaning “have” here. The present form is used with different subjects: jeg har — “I have,” and hun har — “she has.” den her means “this one.” den is the singular common-gender demonstrative pronoun, while her adds the meaning “here,” making the phrase point to a particular nearby or contextually indicated item. The phrase functions as the object of har; it does not itself state what the item is. For example: Jeg vælger den her — “I choose this one.” Together, Jeg har den her means “I have this one.” The structure is subject + present form of “have” + demonstrative object: Jeg + har + den her. In the supplied translation, “this one” is the intended reference for den her. The related sentence Jeg har den ikke places ikke after den to negate the statement: “I do not have it.”

2. Jeg har den ikke.

   I do not have it.

   Jeg har

   I have

   den

   it

   ikke

   not

   More detail

   Jeg har means “I have” here. har is the present-tense form of have; with jeg, the subject is first-person singular. Danish present-tense verb forms generally do not change for person, so har is also used with other subjects: Hun har tid. — “She has time.” den is an object pronoun meaning “it” here. It refers to an understood singular item of the grammatical type that Danish represents with den; the fixed translation does not identify the item itself. In other contexts, den can also function as a demonstrative or as the definite article before an adjective and noun, as in den store bil — “the big car.” Here it stands alone as the object pronoun. Example: Jeg ser den. — “I see it.” ikke means “not” and supplies the negation. In this main clause, it comes after the finite verb: Jeg har ikke ... — “I do not have ...”. Compare Jeg har den. — “I have it” with Jeg har den ikke. — “I do not have it.” Together, Jeg har den ikke forms a present-tense negative statement: the speaker says that they do not have the understood item. The order is subject + finite verb + object pronoun + negation.

3. Jeg kan gøre det.

   I can do it.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   gøre

   do

   det

   it

   More detail

   Jeg kan: This means “I can” here. Jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun “I”. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can/be able to”. After a modal such as kan, Danish normally uses the following verb in the infinitive without at: Jeg kan læse = “I can read.” gøre: This is the infinitive of gøre, “do/make”. In this utterance it follows the modal kan, so it expresses the action the speaker is able to perform. Example: Hun kan gøre det = “She can do it.” det: This is the neuter singular pronoun “it” in object position. Its specific referent is not identified by the fixed utterance; the pronoun simply refers to the understood thing or task. Danish also has den for “it” with common-gender reference, but the choice depends on the grammatical gender of the noun being referred to, not on the English translation alone. Together, Jeg kan + gøre + det forms a modal construction: the subject is able to perform the action, and det is the object of that action. The whole utterance means “I can do it.”

4. Jeg kan ikke gøre det.

   I cannot do it.

   Jeg

   I

   kan

   can; be able to

   ikke

   not

   gøre

   do

   det

   it

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: the speaker is the subject. The same form is used for this subject in the nearby sentence Jeg kan gøre det (“I can do it”); it does not change for the speaker’s gender. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can” or “be able to.” With Jeg, it expresses present ability or possibility. As a modal verb, it is followed here by the infinitive gøre, without an infinitive marker equivalent to English “to.” For example: Jeg kan svømme. — “I can swim.” ikke means “not” and negates the ability expressed by kan together with the following action. In this sentence it appears after the modal verb and before the infinitive: kan ikke gøre — “cannot do.” gøre is the infinitive of “do” or “make.” Its form stays infinitive after the modal kan. For example: Jeg kan gøre det. — “I can do it.” det is a third-person singular pronoun meaning “it” here, used as the object of gøre. Its specific referent is supplied by the situation rather than identified further in this utterance. In the reusable pattern gøre det, it can refer to an action, task, or matter already understood in context. Together, Jeg kan ikke gøre det has the pattern subject + present modal + negation + infinitive + object. The parts combine as “I + am not able to + do + it,” giving the fixed meaning “I cannot do it.”

5. Kan du hjælpe mig?

   Can you help me?

   Kan du

   can you

   hjælpe

   help

   mig

   me

   More detail

   Kan du is the question pattern “can you …?”. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “to be able to/can”; du is the second-person singular subject pronoun, “you”. In a Danish yes/no question, the verb comes before the subject: Kan du ...? Compare the statement order Du kan ... (“You can ...”). hjælpe means “help” here. It is the infinitive form of hjælpe, and after the modal verb kan, Danish uses the infinitive without at: Kan du hjælpe ...? means “Can you help ...?” mig means “me” as the object of the action. The corresponding subject form is jeg (“I”): Jeg hjælper dig means “I help you”, while Du hjælper mig means “You help me”. Together, Kan du + hjælpe + mig forms the complete request “Can you help me?”. The question asks whether the person addressed is able to help the speaker; it does not itself specify what kind of help is needed.

6. Kan du gøre det her?

   Can you do this?

   Kan du

   Can you …?

   gøre

   do

   det

   it; that

   her

   here

   More detail

   Kan du is a reusable Danish way to ask whether someone is able or willing to do something: kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can, be able to”), and du is the second-person singular pronoun (“you”). In a question, the verb comes before the subject: Kan du ...? Compare the statement pattern Du kan ... (“You can ...”). gøre means “do” here. It is the infinitive form of gøre, used after the modal verb kan; Danish normally uses the infinitive after this kind of modal: kan gøre (“can do”). The same verb can also mean “make” when the context is about producing or creating something, but this sentence uses the “do” sense. det is the neuter singular pronoun “it” or “that.” Here, together with her, it refers to the task or thing being indicated and corresponds to “this” in the fixed translation. The pronoun’s grammatical form is neuter singular; the sentence itself does not identify the task more specifically. her is the adverb “here.” In the combination det her, it helps indicate something present or being pointed out, giving the natural meaning “this.” For example, Hvad er det her? means “What is this?” Putting the parts together, Kan du asks about the addressee’s ability or willingness, gøre supplies the action, and det her identifies the indicated task or thing. The complete utterance is therefore “Can you do this?” This is a simple, reusable request pattern: Kan du + infinitive + object.