Movement, home, and neighborhood | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg kommer nu.

   I am coming now.

   Jeg

   I

   kommer

   come; am coming

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun: it means “I.” It identifies the speaker as the one performing the action. Danish uses this same form with present-tense verbs such as kommer. kommer is the present-tense form of komme, “to come.” In this utterance it means “am coming.” Danish does not need a separate progressive verb form here; the present tense can describe an action happening now. For example, Hun kommer nu means “She is coming now.” nu is an adverb meaning “now.” It places the coming at the present time. It can also occur in another clause, as in Jeg går hjem nu, meaning “I am going home now.” Together, the subject Jeg, the present-tense verb kommer, and the time adverb nu express that the speaker is coming now.

2. Jeg går hjem.

   I am going home.

   Jeg

   I

   går

   go / am going

   hjem

   home

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here. It is the first-person singular subject pronoun: the speaker is the one going. A useful contrast is jeg “I” versus du “you,” as in Du går hjem. — “You are going home.” går is the present-tense form of gå, “to go” or “to walk.” In this sentence it describes movement toward home, so Jeg går means “I am going” in the fixed translation. Danish present tense can correspond to English “am going” when the context describes movement happening now. The same form can also mean “walk” in a suitable context. hjem means “home” as a destination. Compare hjem “homeward/to home” with hjemme “at home”: Jeg er hjemme. means “I am at home.” Thus går hjem expresses going to home, while er hjemme expresses being there. Together, Jeg går hjem. means “I am going home.” The subject Jeg is followed by the present-tense verb går, and hjem tells where the movement is directed.

3. Jeg er hjemme.

   I am at home.

   Jeg

   I

   er

   am

   hjemme

   at home

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: the first-person singular subject pronoun. It is used for the speaker, regardless of the speaker’s gender. Example: Jeg læser. — “I am reading.” er is the present-tense form of at være (“to be”) for jeg: jeg er. Danish uses this form to state a current condition or location. Example: Jeg er træt. — “I am tired.” hjemme means “at home” and describes being located at home. It contrasts with hjem, which commonly expresses movement toward home: Jeg går hjem. — “I am going home.” The supplied sentence uses hjemme because it states the speaker’s current location, not movement. Together, Jeg er hjemme. means “I am at home.” The subject is the speaker, er states the present situation, and hjemme specifies the location. The pattern Jeg er + location can be reused with another location, for example Jeg er udenfor. — “I am outside.”

4. Jeg er udenfor nu.

   I am outside now.

   Jeg er

   I am

   udenfor

   outside

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Jeg er means “I am” here. Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun, used for the speaker. er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”); it is used with jeg in the present. For example: Jeg er træt. — “I am tired.” udenfor means “outside.” It is a Danish adverb meaning that someone or something is outdoors or beyond an indoor place. It is written as one word here. For example: Hunden er udenfor. — “The dog is outside.” nu means “now.” It places the situation at the present time. For example: Jeg arbejder nu. — “I am working now.” Together, Jeg er + udenfor + nu gives “I am outside now.” The sentence states the speaker’s current location, with nu emphasizing that this is true at the present time.

5. Jeg kommer tilbage.

   I will be back.

   Jeg

   I

   kommer

   come; am coming

   tilbage

   back

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: the speaker refers to themself. It is the Danish first-person singular pronoun and does not change for grammatical gender. Example: Jeg bor her. — “I live here.” kommer is the present-tense form of komme, “to come.” In this utterance, kommer combines with tilbage to express the speaker’s return; with the fixed translation, the complete phrase is naturally understood as a future promise or statement: “I will be back.” Example: Jeg kommer snart. — “I will come soon.” tilbage means “back” and indicates a return to an earlier place or situation. It is an adverb here, so it does not inflect for the speaker or for a noun. Example: Hun kommer tilbage. — “She will be back.” Together, Jeg kommer tilbage means “I will be back.” The structure is the first-person subject Jeg + present-form verb kommer + the return adverb tilbage; in this context, that combination refers to the speaker returning later.

6. Jeg bor lige i nærheden.

   I live near here.

   Jeg

   I

   bor

   live

   lige i nærheden

   right nearby

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the Danish subject pronoun for the speaker. It does not show the speaker’s gender or number. Example: Jeg kommer. — “I am coming.” bor is the present-tense form of bo, “to live” or “to reside.” Danish uses the same present form with different subjects: Jeg bor means “I live,” while Hun bor means “She lives.” The form describes a current living situation here; it is not the verb for merely being somewhere temporarily. lige i nærheden is a reusable location expression meaning “right nearby” or “very close by.” i nærheden literally refers to being in the vicinity, and lige strengthens the expression here to indicate closeness. Example: Butikken ligger lige i nærheden. — “The shop is right nearby.” Together, Jeg bor + lige i nærheden gives “I live right nearby.” The sentence states that the speaker’s place of residence is close to the relevant place, expressed in the translation as “I live near here.”