Checking the platform before boarding | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Hvilken perron skal vi gå til?

   Which platform should we go to?

   Hvilken

   which

   perron

   platform

   skal vi

   should we

   gå til

   go to

   More detail

   Hvilken means “which” when choosing one singular common-gender noun. It agrees with the noun it determines: hvilken perron (“which platform”), hvilket with a singular neuter noun, and hvilke with plural nouns. Example: Hvilken bus tager du? — “Which bus are you taking?” perron means “platform.” Its indefinite form is en perron, while the definite form is perronen (“the platform”). Example: Jeg venter på perronen. — “I am waiting on the platform.” skal vi combines present-tense skal (“shall/should”) with vi (“we”). Skal is the observed form of skulle; in this question it presents the proposed or intended action as a question: “should we…?” Vi is the first-person plural subject. Example: Skal vi begynde? — “Shall we begin?” gå til means “go to.” gå is the infinitive form of the verb meaning “go,” and til marks the destination. The infinitive follows skal, so the reusable pattern is skal + subject + gå til + destination. Example: Vi skal gå til stationen. — “We should go to the station.” Together, Hvilken perron asks the listener to choose or identify one platform, while skal vi gå til asks which destination the group should go to. The complete meaning is “Which platform should we go to?”

2. Skiltet peger på perron to.

   The sign points to platform two.

   Skiltet

   the sign

   peger

   points

   på

   to

   perron

   platform

   to

   two

   More detail

   Skiltet means “the sign” here. It is the definite singular form of skilt (“sign”): the ending -et marks a definite noun of this form. Danish definiteness is expressed on the noun when there is no separate definite article. Example: et skilt — “a sign”; skiltet — “the sign”. peger means “points” here. Its base form is pege (“to point”), and peger is the present-tense form. Danish present-tense verbs do not change for the subject’s person or number, so the same form can occur with different subjects. Example: Pilene peger mod døren. — “The arrows point toward the door.” på is the preposition “to” in this directional use. With pege, pege på identifies what a sign, pointer, or person points toward. This is a use of på, not the separate spatial meaning “on” found in sentences such as Bogen ligger på bordet. — “The book is on the table.” perron means “platform” here, specifically a station platform. It is a common-gender noun; its indefinite singular form is en perron, and its definite singular form is perronen. In perron to, the noun is followed by the platform number, a compact way to identify a numbered platform. Example: Vi venter på perron tre. — “We are waiting on platform three.” to is the cardinal number “two”. It identifies the platform number in perron to; it is not an inflected form of perron. Together, Skiltet peger på gives “The sign points to”, and perron to gives “platform two”. The complete utterance is therefore “The sign points to platform two.”

3. Jeg kan ikke læse de små bogstaver herfra.

   I can't read the small letters from here.

   Jeg

   I

   kan ikke

   cannot

   læse

   read

   små

   small

   bogstaver

   letters

   herfra

   from here

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun, meaning the speaker. It is used when the speaker is the one who cannot read. A useful contrast is jeg “I” versus du “you,” but the form does not change for grammatical gender. kan ikke combines present-tense kan from kunne “can, be able to” with the negator ikke “not.” In this sentence, the combination expresses inability: “cannot.” After the modal kan, the following verb stays in its infinitive form. For example, Jeg kan se det. means “I can see it.” læse means “read” here. It is the infinitive form, selected after the modal kan; the sentence therefore has the pattern kan + læse, not a second present-tense verb. The same infinitive can be used after other modal verbs, for example Jeg vil læse. — “I want to read” or “I will read,” depending on context. små is the plural and definite-form adjective related to lille, “small.” It describes plural bogstaver in the noun phrase de små bogstaver, “the small letters.” The adjective agrees with the plural noun phrase; it is lille in relevant singular forms but små in the plural. For example, små sko means “small shoes.” bogstaver is the plural of the noun bogstav, “letter.” In de små bogstaver, it refers to letters as written characters, and the whole noun phrase is definite because of de together with the adjective phrase. The noun itself has the regular-looking plural ending -er: bogstav → bogstaver. herfra means “from here,” identifying the place from which something is being viewed or done. It contrasts with her, “here,” which only identifies the place without the source relation. For example, Herfra kan jeg se havet. means “From here I can see the sea.” The sentence begins with the speaker, Jeg. The modal construction kan ikke states that the speaker is unable to perform the action, and læse names that action. The object is de små bogstaver, “the small letters,” while herfra specifies that the letters cannot be read from the speaker’s current position. Together, the utterance means: “I can't read the small letters from here.”

4. Der står, at toget kører om ti minutter.

   It says the train leaves in ten minutes.

   Der står

   it says

   toget

   the train

   kører

   leaves

   om ti minutter

   in ten minutes

   More detail

   Der står is a common Danish construction meaning “it says” or “it is written.” Here, der is an introductory, non-referential element; it does not identify a person or thing. står is the present form of stå (“stand”), but in this construction it refers to written information. Compare Der står en besked. — “There is a message written [there].” toget means “the train.” The noun’s citation form is tog (“train”); the indefinite singular is et tog, and -et marks the definite singular form: et tog = “a train,” toget = “the train.” The noun itself, not a neighboring word, carries this definiteness marking. kører is the present form of køre (“drive; travel; run”). With a train, it can describe traveling or departing; in this sentence, the fixed translation supports the scheduled-departure meaning “leaves.” Danish present tense can describe a future event when a timetable or other schedule makes the future time clear. For example: Toget kører klokken otte. — “The train leaves at eight.” om ti minutter is a time expression meaning “in ten minutes.” om places the event that far in the future, and ti minutter means “ten minutes.” The expression gives the time until the train’s departure; it does not mean that the departure lasts ten minutes. Together, Der står introduces written information, at introduces the content of that information, toget kører states that the train leaves, and om ti minutter specifies when. The complete meaning is: “It says that the train leaves in ten minutes.”

5. Jeg går på toilettet, før vi stiger på.

   I'm going to use the restroom before we board.

   Jeg

   I

   går

   go; am going

   toilettet

   the restroom

   før

   before

   vi

   we

   stiger på

   board

   More detail

   Jeg means “I,” the first-person singular subject form. It identifies the speaker as the person going to the restroom. The corresponding plural subject form is vi, “we,” used later for the group that boards. går is the present form of gå, “to go.” In this sentence, går combines with the destination phrase på toilettet and is naturally translated “am going” because the speaker is announcing an intended immediate action. Danish present tense can express such a current or near-future action; it does not require a separate progressive ending. Example: Jeg går hjem. — “I’m going home.” på toilettet is the ordinary Danish expression for going to or using the restroom. toilettet is the definite singular form of toilet: et toilet — “a toilet,” toilettet — “the toilet.” The preposition på belongs to this established destination expression here; it should not be translated mechanically as a physical position “on” the toilet. før means “before” and introduces the event that has not happened yet at the relevant point: før vi stiger på, “before we board.” It is a conjunction here, linking the restroom action with the later boarding action. vi means “we,” the first-person plural subject. It includes the speaker in the boarding group in the fixed translation. Danish vi does not itself specify how many people are included. stiger på is the present-tense form of the expression stige på, “to board” or “get on” a vehicle. stiger is the present form of stige, while på is the particle that completes this meaning; together they form the reusable construction stige på + vehicle. Example: Vi stiger på toget. — “We board the train.” In this sentence the vehicle is understood from the travel context and is not stated in the target text; the fixed translation identifies the intended meaning as “board.” Together, Jeg går på toilettet says that the speaker is going to use the restroom. før vi stiger på places that action before the group boards. The complete meaning is: “I’m going to use the restroom before we board.”

6. Jeg passer på taskerne.

   I'll keep the bags with me.

   passer på

   keep an eye on; look after

   taskerne

   the bags

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular subject, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out the action. passer på is the present-tense form of passe på, used here as a verb expression meaning “look after” or “keep something safe.” In this form, passer has the present-tense ending -r; the present form does not change for the subject’s person or number. Example: Jeg passer på børnene. — “I look after the children.” taskerne means “the bags.” The base noun is taske (“bag”); tasker is its plural, and taskerne is the definite plural, “the bags.” The ending -ne marks definiteness after the plural form. Example: Taskerne er tunge. — “The bags are heavy.” Together, Jeg passer på taskerne means that the speaker will look after or keep the bags safe, matching the fixed translation “I’ll keep the bags with me.” The reusable pattern is Jeg passer på + object, meaning “I look after/keep safe + object”; the object can be definite, indefinite, or a pronoun depending on what is being referred to.

7. Bliv venligst tæt på dette skilt.

   Please stay near this sign.

   Bliv

   stay; remain

   venligst

   please

   tæt

   close; near

   dette

   this

   skilt

   sign

   More detail

   Bliv is the imperative of blive. In this sentence it means “stay” or “remain,” telling one person or more than one person to remain in a place; blive can also mean “become” in other contexts, but that is not the meaning here. Example: Bliv her. — “Stay here.” venligst is a polite word meaning “please.” It softens the instruction without changing the action requested. Example: Vent venligst. — “Please wait.” tæt means “close” in the sense of being at a short distance. Here it belongs to the reusable pattern tæt på + a place or thing: “near …” The following på is needed to connect tæt with what is nearby. Example: Hun står tæt på døren. — “She is standing close to the door.” dette means “this” and points to one nearby thing. Its form agrees with the neuter singular noun it accompanies here. Danish also has denne for a common-gender singular noun and disse for plural nouns; the choice is determined by the noun’s grammatical form, not simply by physical distance. Example: Dette hus er stort. — “This house is big.” skilt means “sign.” In this sentence it is the neuter singular form after dette; the definite form is skiltet, meaning “the sign.” Example: Jeg ser et skilt. — “I see a sign.” Together, Bliv venligst gives the polite instruction “Please stay.” The pattern tæt på dette skilt adds the location: tæt på means “near,” dette identifies one nearby neuter singular item as “this,” and skilt names that item as “sign.” The complete meaning is therefore “Please stay near this sign.”

8. Jeg holder øje med tavlen, hvis perronen skifter.

   I'll watch the board in case the platform changes.

   Jeg

   I

   holder øje med

   keep an eye on

   tavlen

   the board

   hvis

   in case

   perronen

   the platform

   skifter

   changes

   More detail

   Jeg means “I.” It is the Danish first-person singular subject pronoun. It does not identify anyone beyond the speaker. holder øje med is a fixed expression meaning “keep an eye on” or “watch.” The verb is holder, the present-tense form of holde (“to hold”), but the full expression—not the literal idea of holding an eye—is what gives the intended meaning here. Example: Jeg holder øje med døren. — “I’m keeping an eye on the door.” tavlen means “the board.” Its base noun is tavle; the ending -en marks the definite singular form: en tavle (“a board”) → tavlen (“the board”). The noun is the object watched in this sentence. hvis introduces the condition or contingency “if” / “in case.” Here it connects the watching with a possible change to the platform: the speaker will watch the board should that change occur. perronen means “the platform.” Its base noun is perron; perronen is its definite singular form, “the platform.” In the subordinate clause, it is the subject of skifter. skifter means “changes” here. It is the present-tense form of skifte (“to change” or “switch”). The subject is perronen, so the form describes the platform changing. Example: Tavlen skifter. — “The board changes.” Together, Jeg holder øje med tavlen says “I’ll watch the board,” and hvis perronen skifter adds the condition “in case the platform changes.” The whole utterance therefore means: “I’ll watch the board in case the platform changes.”