Preparing for a Meeting | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Er mødenoterne klare?

   Are the meeting notes ready?

   Er

   are

   mødenoterne

   the meeting notes

   klare

   ready

   More detail

   Er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”). In a Danish yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Er ...? means “Are ...?” or “Is ...?”, depending on the subject. Here, the subject is plural, so the English translation uses “Are.” mødenoterne means “the meeting notes.” It is a compound noun: møde means “meeting,” and noter means “notes.” The ending -ne marks definite plural, so mødenoterne refers to the notes as a specific set, rather than simply “meeting notes.” The following context uses De (“they”), which confirms the plural reading. klare means “ready” here. It is the form of klar used with a plural subject; the same form is also used in contexts requiring a definite adjective form. For example, Noterne er klare. means “The notes are ready.” Together, Er + mødenoterne + klare forms a yes/no question: “Are the meeting notes ready?” The word order is the question pattern finite verb + subject + adjective.

2. De ligger på mit skrivebord.

   They are on my desk.

   De

   they

   ligger

   are located

   på

   on

   mit

   my

   skrivebord

   desk

   More detail

   De is the Danish third-person plural pronoun meaning “they” here. In the supplied exchange, it refers to the meeting notes mentioned in the preceding question. Danish also uses de in other contexts, including formal address, but that is not the function shown here. ligger is the present-tense form of ligge, “to lie” or “to be located.” For objects, Danish commonly uses ligge to describe a stationary position: Bogen ligger på bordet means “The book is on the table.” The form ligger can be used with different subjects; the subject here is plural De. på is the preposition used here for a position on a surface. It combines with the location that follows: på bordet means “on the table.” mit means “my” before a neuter singular noun. The noun skrivebord is neuter: et skrivebord, “a desk,” so its possessive form is mit skrivebord. Compare min before a common-gender singular noun, as in min bog (“my book”), and mine with plural nouns, as in mine bøger (“my books”). skrivebord means “desk.” Its parts are written as one Danish compound noun; the form used here is singular and definite only through the possessive phrase mit skrivebord, not through a separate definite article. A reusable example is Min computer ligger på skrivebordet — “My computer is on the desk.” Together, De ligger says “they are located,” and på mit skrivebord gives the location “on my desk.” The complete utterance therefore means “They are on my desk.”

3. Er der en kopi til mig?

   Is there a copy for me?

   Er der

   is there

   kopi

   copy

   til mig

   for me

   More detail

   Er der is the Danish existential question pattern meaning “is there …?” Here, er is a form of være (“to be”), while der is a formal/expletive element in this construction; it does not mean a specific place here. A reusable pattern is Er der + noun? Example: Er der kaffe? — “Is there coffee?” kopi means “copy” here. The phrase en kopi means “a copy”; en marks an indefinite singular noun, but it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Danish nouns belong to grammatical gender classes, and kopi is used with the common-gender article en. Example: Jeg har en kopi. — “I have a copy.” til mig means “for me” in this sentence. til is a preposition that can express a destination or intended recipient, and mig is the object form of the first-person pronoun jeg (“I”). Compare Jeg har den. — “I have it” with Den er til mig. — “It is for me.” Together, Er der asks whether something exists or is available, en kopi identifies that thing as a copy, and til mig specifies the intended recipient. The whole utterance therefore means “Is there a copy for me?”

4. Her er en.

   Here is one.

   Her er

   here is

   en

   one

   More detail

   Her er combines her (“here”) with er, the present-tense form of være (“to be”). Together, Her er + noun/pronoun presents something as being here: Her er bogen. — “Here is the book.” en means “one” here. It stands alone rather than appearing before a noun, so it functions as a pronoun in this sentence. Danish en can also be the indefinite article before a singular common-gender noun, as in en bog (“a book”); that is a different use from the standalone en in the fixed utterance. The whole utterance, Her er en., means “Here is one.” The displayed item is presented as one item of the relevant kind, while the noun itself is left unstated.

5. Hvad skal vi tale om i dag?

   What are we discussing today?

   Hvad

   what

   skal vi

   shall we

   tale om

   discuss; talk about

   i dag

   today

   More detail

   Hvad means “what” here: it asks for the topic or thing being discussed. Danish uses hvad for an unspecified thing or content, rather than for a person. Example: Hvad læser du? — “What are you reading?” skal vi combines the modal verb skal with the subject pronoun vi (“we”). Skal is the present form of skulle; with an infinitive, it commonly expresses what someone is going to do, is expected to do, or proposes doing. In this question it presents today’s discussion as the activity under consideration. Vi is the first-person plural pronoun “we.” Example: Skal vi gå? — “Shall we go?” Tale om is the reusable verb construction “talk about” or “discuss.” Tale is the infinitive of tale (“to talk”); om is the preposition required for the topic in this construction. The two words should be learned together for this meaning: Vi taler om planen. — “We are talking about the plan.” I dag is the fixed time expression “today.” I is the preposition used in this expression, and dag means “day.” Example: Vi mødes i dag. — “We are meeting today.” In the full question, Hvad is placed first because it is the requested information. The finite modal skal comes before the subject vi, followed by the infinitive tale; the preposition om remains after the fronted question word. The pattern is Hvad skal [subject] [infinitive] om? — “What is/are [subject] going to talk about?” Adding i dag limits the discussion to today. Thus the utterance asks what topic we are discussing today.

6. Vi skal tale om den nye plan.

   We will discuss the new plan.

   Vi skal

   we will

   tale om

   discuss; talk about

   den

   the

   nye

   new

   plan

   plan

   More detail

   Vi skal means “we will” here. vi is the first-person plural pronoun, used for the speaker together with at least one other person. skal is the present form of skulle; with an infinitive, it commonly expresses a planned or expected future action. In this sentence, the fixed translation supports the future reading “will,” rather than an obligation reading. The same pattern is reusable: Vi skal [verb] = “We will [verb].” tale om means “discuss” or “talk about.” The verb is tale, whose infinitive follows skal without at: skal tale. The preposition om completes this use of the verb, so tale om X is a reusable pattern for discussing X. Example: Vi skal tale om arbejdet. — “We will discuss the work.” den is the singular definite determiner “the” in this noun phrase. It agrees with the common-gender noun plan; it does not itself identify a numerical quantity. Danish also has det for singular neuter nouns, while de is used for plural definite reference. nye means “new” here. Its base form is ny. In den nye plan, the adjective has the definite form nye, used after a definite determiner such as den. The adjective itself carries this form; plan is its own noun and is not the base of nye. Compare the indefinite phrase en ny plan — “a new plan” — with the definite phrase den nye plan — “the new plan.” plan means “plan.” It is a singular common-gender noun; its indefinite form is en plan, while its definite form is planen, “the plan.” Here definiteness is expressed by the separate determiner den, and the adjective correspondingly appears as nye. Together, Vi skal tale om den nye plan is built as Vi skal + tale om + den nye plan: “We will discuss the new plan.”

7. Lad mig læse noterne, før vi begynder.

   Let me read the notes before we start.

   Lad mig

   let me

   læse

   read

   noterne

   the notes

   før

   before

   vi

   we

   begynder

   start

   More detail

   Lad mig is the reusable Danish pattern for “let me …”. Lad is the imperative of lade (“to let/allow”), and mig is the object form of “I/me”. It introduces an action the speaker proposes to do. For example: Lad mig hjælpe. — “Let me help.” læse means “to read” here. It is the infinitive form, used after lad mig. The same form can be used after other Danish constructions that require an infinitive, for example: Jeg vil læse. — “I want to read.” noterne means “the notes” here. Its base noun is note; noter is the plural, and noterne is the definite plural (“the notes”). Danish commonly marks definiteness at the end of the noun rather than with a separate word: noter — “notes”, noterne — “the notes”. før means “before” and introduces the time relation between two actions or events. In this sentence it introduces the clause vi begynder, so the reading is to happen before the starting happens. For example: Læs dette, før du går. — “Read this before you leave.” vi is the first-person plural pronoun “we”. It identifies the subject of begynder in the subordinate clause. Danish uses vi for a group that includes the speaker; the exact size or membership of that group is not specified here. begynder means “start” or “begin” here. Its base form is begynde; begynder is the present-tense form used with vi. In Danish, this present form does not change for person or number: jeg begynder, vi begynder — “I start”, “we start”. Together, Lad mig læse noterne means “Let me read the notes”. før vi begynder adds the time condition “before we start”. The complete utterance is therefore: “Let me read the notes before we start.”

8. Tag et minut, før vi begynder.

   Take a minute before we begin.

   Tag

   take

   et minut

   a minute

   før

   before

   begynder

   begin / start

   More detail

   Tag is the imperative of tage (“to take”). It addresses one or more people without stating their identity; in this utterance it gives the instruction “take.” Example: Tag en pause. — “Take a break.” et minut means “a minute.” Et is the form of the indefinite article used with the neuter noun minut; here it introduces a time period and does not by itself assert a numerical count beyond the expression’s meaning. Example: Vent et minut. — “Wait a minute.” før introduces a clause or time expression meaning “before.” It links the instructed action to the event that follows it. Example: Ring, før du går. — “Call before you leave.” begynder is the present-tense form of begynde, “to begin” or “to start.” The subject vi means “we,” so vi begynder means “we begin/start.” Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change form for different subjects; the subject is shown separately here by vi. Together, Tag et minut gives the instruction “Take a minute,” and før vi begynder places it before the group begins. The complete utterance therefore means “Take a minute before we begin.”