Finding the restroom during a lesson break | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Hvor lang er pausen?

   How long is the break?

   Hvor lang

   how long

   er

   is

   pausen

   the break

   More detail

   Hvor lang asks about duration or length: literally, it is the question pattern “how long”. Here lang is the adjective “long” in its basic form. In Danish, hvor + adjective can form a question about degree, as in Hvor stor er den? — “How big is it?” er is the present-tense form of være, “to be”. The same form is used with singular and plural subjects: Jeg er means “I am”, while De er means “They are” or “You are” in the relevant context. Here it links the break with the requested duration. pausen means “the break”. It is the definite singular form of pause: en pause is “a break”, and pausen is “the break”. The ending -en marks definite singular for this noun; it does not itself state a numerical count. Together, Hvor lang er pausen? asks for the duration of the break: “How long is the break?” The following context supplies the answer ti minutter, “ten minutes,” so the utterance is about duration rather than physical length.

2. Pausen varer ti minutter.

   The break is ten minutes long.

   Pausen

   the break

   varer

   lasts

   ti

   ten

   minutter

   minutes

   More detail

   Pausen means “the break” here. It is the definite singular form of pause (“break”): en pause = “a break”, pausen = “the break”. The -en ending marks definiteness for this common-gender noun; it does not itself mean “one”. varer is the present-tense form of vare (“to last”). It describes the duration of an event or period. For example, Mødet varer en time. means “The meeting lasts an hour.” ti means “ten”. It is the numeral used before the plural noun in this sentence. minutter means “minutes”. Its singular form is minut, and its plural form is minutter: et minut = “one minute”, ti minutter = “ten minutes”. Together, Pausen varer says “The break lasts”, and ti minutter supplies the duration. The complete utterance therefore means “The break is ten minutes long.”

3. Hvor er toilettet?

   Where is the restroom?

   Hvor

   where

   er

   is located

   toilettet

   the restroom

   More detail

   Hvor means “where” and asks for a location. It is a question word used for places or positions. For example: Hvor er stationen? — “Where is the station?” er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” In this sentence, it links the question word to a location: “where is …?” The same form is used with different subjects in the present tense; for example, Jeg er her means “I am here.” toilettet means “the restroom” here. It is the definite singular form of toilet, “restroom/toilet”: toilet → toilettet. The ending marks the noun as definite; it does not itself express a numerical count. A useful contrast is et toilet — “a restroom” and toilettet — “the restroom.” Together, Hvor + er + toilettet forms the reusable location-question pattern “Where is the restroom?” The utterance asks for the location of the restroom, without stating how far away it is or how to reach it.`

4. Gå ud af rummet og drej til højre.

   Go out of the room and turn right.

   Gå

   go; walk

   ud af

   out of

   rummet

   the room

   drej

   turn

   til højre

   to the right

   More detail

   Gå means “go” here. It is the imperative of gå, used to give a direct instruction. Depending on context, gå can describe going or walking. Example: Gå hjem. — “Go home.” ud af expresses movement from inside something to outside it: ud is “out,” and af links that movement to the place being exited. Example: Hun går ud af bilen. — “She gets out of the car.” rummet means “the room.” Its base form is rum (“room”); the ending -et marks the singular definite form, “the room.” The indefinite form is et rum, “a room.” drej means “turn.” It is the imperative of dreje. Example: Drej til venstre. — “Turn left.” til højre means “to the right” and gives the direction of the turn. The contrasting direction is til venstre, “to the left.” Together, Gå ud af rummet tells the listener to leave the room, and drej til højre then instructs them to turn right. The conjunction og connects the two imperative instructions, giving the complete meaning: “Go out of the room and turn right.”

5. Jeg tror, jeg kan finde det.

   I think I can find it.

   Jeg

   I

   tror

   think

   kan

   can

   finde

   find

   det

   it

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person who thinks and can find something. A useful contrast is du (“you”), used for one person being addressed. tror is the present-tense form of tro, “to think” or “to believe.” In this sentence it introduces the speaker’s view: “I think …”. Danish present forms often do not show a separate ending for each subject, so jeg tror uses the same present form that can occur with other subjects, such as hun tror (“she thinks”). kan is the present form of the modal verb kunne, “can” or “be able to.” It expresses ability or possibility here. Danish places the following verb in the infinitive after this modal: kan finde means “can find,” not “can finds.” For example, Jeg kan vente means “I can wait.” finde is the infinitive of finde, “to find.” It follows kan and names the action the speaker is able to perform. The infinitive also appears after other modal verbs, for example skal finde (“must/will find”) when that meaning is intended. det is the object pronoun meaning “it” in this sentence. The fixed translation supports this object reading, but it does not identify exactly what “it” refers to. Det is also used as the singular neuter form in relevant grammatical contexts; its exact referent must come from context rather than from the pronoun alone. Together, Jeg tror (“I think”) introduces the speaker’s judgment, and jeg kan finde det (“I can find it”) gives the content of that judgment. The repeated jeg is the subject of the second clause, kan expresses ability, finde is the modal-dependent infinitive, and det is the thing found. The complete meaning is: “I think I can find it.”

6. Jeg venter her, før undervisningen begynder igen.

   I will wait here before class starts again.

   Jeg

   I

   venter

   wait

   her

   here

   før

   before

   undervisningen

   class

   begynder

   starts

   igen

   again

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It is used for the speaker; the related object form is mig, as in Hun ser mig (“She sees me”). venter means “wait” here. Its base form is vente; venter is the present-tense form. Danish present tense can describe an action that will happen in the future when the context makes that clear, so the fixed translation uses “will wait.” Example: Jeg venter på bussen — “I am waiting for the bus.” her means “here,” referring to the place where the speaker will wait. The contrasting location word is der, “there.” Example: Jeg bliver her — “I am staying here.” før means “before” and introduces the event that must happen later than the waiting in the stated time relationship. It can introduce a clause, as here, or a shorter time expression: før mødet — “before the meeting.” undervisningen means “the class” in this sentence. The base noun is undervisning, “teaching” or “instruction”; the ending in undervisningen marks the definite form, meaning the particular class or instruction understood in context. Example: Undervisningen begynder klokken ni — “The class starts at nine.” begynder means “starts” here. Its base form is begynde, and begynder is the present-tense form. Danish present tense does not change according to the subject’s person or number: Jeg begynder and de begynder both use begynder. Example: Filmen begynder nu — “The film starts now.” igen means “again,” indicating a repetition of the class starting. It is an adverb and does not change form. Together, Jeg venter her means “I will wait here,” while før undervisningen begynder igen means “before the class starts again.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I will wait here before class starts again.”