Trying on a shirt | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg har brug for en ny skjorte.

   I need a new shirt.

   Jeg

   I

   har brug for

   need

   en

   a/an

   ny

   new

   skjorte

   shirt

   More detail

   Jeg is the Danish first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It is used for the person speaking. For example, Jeg læser means “I read.” har brug for is the reusable Danish construction meaning “need.” Literally, it contains har, the present-tense form of have, but the full construction expresses necessity or need; do not translate har alone as the complete meaning “need.” For example, Jeg har brug for hjælp means “I need help.” en is the indefinite article used here with a singular common-gender noun. It introduces an unspecified shirt; by itself, it does not assert a numerical count. Danish also has et for singular neuter-gender nouns, so the article must agree with the noun rather than simply with the speaker’s intention. ny means “new” here and is the basic, non-comparative form of the adjective. Its comparative form is nyere (“newer”), and its superlative is nyest (“newest”). In this sentence, ny describes the shirt. skjorte means “shirt.” It is a singular common-gender noun, as shown by en skjorte. Its plural is skjorter (“shirts”), and its definite singular form is skjorten (“the shirt”). Together, Jeg har brug for en ny skjorte means “I need a new shirt.” The structure is subject + har brug for + en + adjective + noun: the speaker expresses a need, and the needed item is an unspecified new shirt.

2. Hvilken farve leder du efter?

   What color are you looking for?

   Hvilken

   which

   farve

   color

   leder … efter

   look for

   du

   you

   More detail

   Hvilken means “which” here and comes before the noun it determines. Danish distinguishes hvilken with a common-gender singular noun, hvilket with a neuter singular noun, and hvilke with a plural noun. For example: Hvilken bog læser du? — “Which book are you reading?” farve means “color.” It is a common-gender noun: en farve (“a color”), with the definite form farven (“the color”). In hvilken farve, the question asks the listener to identify a color. leder efter is the reusable Danish expression “look for” or “search for.” The base verb is lede, and leder is its present-tense form. The two parts belong together even though the object can occur elsewhere in a longer sentence. For example: Jeg leder efter mine nøgler. — “I am looking for my keys.” du is the second-person pronoun “you.” It is the subject here. Danish present-tense verbs do not change according to the subject’s person or number, so leder remains the same with jeg, du, or other subjects. The question phrase Hvilken farve is placed first. Danish then places the finite verb leder before the subject du, followed by efter; this gives the structure “Which color are you looking for?” The complete utterance asks which color the listener is looking for.

3. Noget blåt, hvis du har det.

   Something blue, if you have it.

   Noget

   something

   blåt

   blue

   har

   have/has

   det

   it

   More detail

   Noget means “something.” It is also used as an indefinite pronoun for an unspecified thing. In noget blåt, it helps form the phrase “something blue,” rather than naming a particular object. blåt means “blue” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective blå, used with noget; the adjective is functioning substantivally, so no noun is stated after it. Compare the basic forms blå (common-gender singular), blåt (neuter singular), and blå (plural). Example: noget rødt means “something red.” har is the present-tense form of have, “to have.” Danish present-tense har is used with different subjects: jeg har means “I have,” while du har means “you have.” In this sentence, har occurs with du, “you.” det is a neuter singular pronoun meaning “it” here. Its specific referent is supplied by the situation rather than identified in this sentence. The form det is distinct from the common-gender form den when Danish grammar requires that contrast. hvis introduces a condition and means “if.” Together, hvis du har det means “if you have it”: du is the subject, har expresses present possession, and det is the possessed item. The utterance first offers an unspecified blue thing with noget blåt, then adds the condition hvis du har det. Together, Noget blåt, hvis du har det. means “Something blue, if you have it.” The comma reflects the spoken-offer structure; the first part names what is wanted, and the conditional part limits the request to availability.

4. Her er en i din størrelse.

   Here is one in your size.

   Her er

   here is

   en

   one

   din

   your

   størrelse

   size

   More detail

   Her er is a common Danish presentational pattern meaning “here is” or “here are.” It points out or presents something. In this sentence, er is the present form of være (“to be”); her means “here.” Example: Her er bogen. — “Here is the book.” en means “one” here: it stands alone as a pronoun for an understood item, rather than introducing an explicitly named noun. Danish also uses en as the indefinite article before singular common-gender nouns, but that is not its role in this sentence. Example: Jeg vil have en. — “I want one.” din means “your” when addressing one person and agreeing with a singular common-gender noun. Its useful contrast is dit with a singular neuter noun and dine with plural nouns. Here, din agrees with størrelse, not with the item represented by en. størrelse means “size.” It is a common-gender noun: en størrelse; its plural is størrelser, and its definite singular form is størrelsen (“the size”). Example: Hvilken størrelse bruger du? — “What size do you wear?” Together, Her er en presents one understood item, and i din størrelse specifies that the item is available in the listener’s size. The complete utterance therefore means “Here is one in your size.”

5. Kan jeg prøve den?

   Can I try it on?

   Kan jeg

   Can I

   prøve

   try on

   den

   it

   More detail

   Kan jeg combines kan, the present form of kunne, with jeg (“I”). In this question, kan asks whether the speaker is allowed or able to do something; the fixed translation supports the permission reading “Can I?”. Danish places the modal before the subject in this yes/no question. The useful pattern is Kan jeg + infinitive?. prøve is the infinitive “try”. After the modal kan, Danish uses the infinitive without an infinitive marker: kan ... prøve. Here, the context and fixed translation make the intended sense “try on”, referring to trying an item as clothing. In other contexts, prøve can simply mean “try” or “test” something. Example: Jeg vil prøve igen. — “I want to try again.” den is an object pronoun meaning “it” here. It is the form used for a singular common-gender referent; Danish uses det for a singular neuter referent. The pronoun’s grammatical form does not by itself identify the exact item, but the fixed translation establishes the intended object as “it”. Together, Kan jeg + prøve + den gives “Can I try it on?”. The question asks permission to try the item on, while the following context identifies the changing room as nearby.

6. Prøverummet er lige herovre.

   The changing room is just over here.

   Prøverummet

   the changing room

   er

   is

   lige herovre

   just over here

   More detail

   Prøverummet means “the changing room” here. Its base noun is prøverum, “changing room” (literally a room for trying on clothes). The ending -et marks definite singular in this noun: et prøverum = “a changing room”, prøverummet = “the changing room”. The noun is the subject of the sentence. er is the present-tense form of være, “to be”. Danish uses er for present “is” and “are”; the form does not change for singular versus plural subjects. For example, Rummet er her. means “The room is here.” lige herovre means “just over here”. herovre is a location word meaning “over here”, and lige adds the meaning “just” or “right”, making the location sound close or easy to indicate. In this phrase, lige modifies the location expression rather than changing the identity of the room. For example, Bogen ligger lige herovre. means “The book is just over here.” Together, Prøverummet + er + lige herovre gives “The changing room is just over here.” The sentence identifies the changing room and points out its nearby location.

7. Den passer rigtig godt.

   It fits really well.

   Den

   it

   passer

   fits

   rigtig godt

   really well

   More detail

   Den means “it” here and is a singular common-gender form. Danish uses den for a common-gender singular referent and det for a neuter singular referent; the sentence itself does not identify the referent more specifically. Example: Den er ny. — “It is new.” passer is the present-tense form of passe, “to fit” or, with suitable context, “to suit.” The present form is used for a current assessment: Den passer. — “It fits.” Do not confuse it with passer på, which commonly means “looks after” or “takes care of” someone or something. rigtig godt is an adverbial expression meaning “really well.” rigtig intensifies godt; godt is the adverbial form related to god (“good”) and describes how well the fitting works. Compare god in en god idé (“a good idea”) with godt in Det fungerer godt. (“It works well.”) Together, Den passer says that the item referred to by den fits, and rigtig godt strengthens this to “really well.” The complete utterance is therefore “It fits really well.” This is a neutral, reusable way to give a positive assessment of how something fits.

8. Den ser pæn ud på dig.

   It looks nice on you.

   Den

   it

   ser … ud

   looks

   pæn

   nice

   på dig

   on you

   More detail

   Den means “it” here. It is a singular common-gender pronoun, and the fixed translation identifies the thing being described as “it”; the utterance itself does not specify what that thing is. Danish also uses den as a determiner before a common-gender noun, but that is not its role here. ser ... ud is the Danish construction meaning “looks” or “appears.” The verb ser is the present-tense form of se (“to see”), but with ud it forms se ud, “to look/appear.” The construction is split in this sentence because pæn comes between its two parts. Example: Han ser træt ud. — “He looks tired.” pæn means “nice” here, describing how the thing looks. It can also mean “pretty” or “neat,” depending on context. Its comparative form is pænere, “nicer” or “prettier.” Example: Den er pænere. — “It is nicer/prettier.” på dig means “on you.” dig is the object form of du (“you”), used here after the preposition på. In this expression, på connects the appearance of an item with the person wearing or displaying it: Det ser godt ud på hende. — “It looks good on her.” Together, Den identifies the item, ser ... ud says how it appears, pæn supplies the positive description, and på dig specifies the person on whom it is being viewed. The whole utterance means: “It looks nice on you.”