Reviewing words with cards | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg vil gennemgå disse ord.

   I want to review these words.

   Jeg vil

   I want to

   gennemgå

   review; go through

   disse

   these

   ord

   words

   More detail

   Jeg vil combines the first-person pronoun jeg (“I”) with vil, the present-tense form of ville. Here vil expresses the speaker’s intention: “want to.” Danish uses jeg vil before an infinitive to express “I want to …” or “I intend to …”. For example: Jeg vil læse. — “I want to read.” gennemgå is an infinitive meaning “to review” or “to go through” something systematically. After vil, the following verb stays in the infinitive: Jeg vil gennemgå ... — “I want to review ...”. The same verb can also be used for going through material step by step, not only for revising it. disse means “these.” It is the plural form used with a nearby or contextually identified group. The singular forms are denne for common-gender nouns and dette for neuter nouns; disse itself is used for plural nouns. In this sentence, it points to the words being reviewed. ord means “words.” Its singular form is also ord (“a word”), while the plural indefinite form is ord (“words”); the surrounding determiner or context identifies the number here. The definite plural is ordene (“the words”). For example: Jeg lærer nye ord. — “I am learning new words.” Together, Jeg vil gennemgå disse ord. means “I want to review these words.” The structure is jeg vil + infinitive gennemgå + demonstrative disse + plural noun ord: the speaker states an intention to review the particular group of words indicated by “these.”

2. Lad os bruge disse ordkort.

   Let's use these word cards.

   Lad os

   let's

   bruge

   use

   disse

   these

   ordkort

   word cards

   More detail

   Lad os is a reusable way to suggest an action: “let’s …”. lad is the imperative of lade (“let” or “allow”), and os is the object form of the first-person plural pronoun (“us”). In this pattern, lad os is followed by an infinitive: Lad os læse. — “Let’s read.” bruge is the infinitive of bruge, “to use”. The infinitive appears after lad os, so Lad os bruge ... means “Let’s use ...”. The same verb can occur with other subjects and tenses, for example Jeg bruger kortet. — “I use the card.” disse means “these” and points to more than one nearby or contextually identified item. Danish distinguishes this plural form from the singular forms denne (common gender) and dette (neuter): denne bog — “this book”, dette ord — “this word”, disse ord — “these words”. Here, disse marks the following noun as plural; it does not itself express a number beyond “more than one”. ordkort means “word card”. It is a compound of ord (“word”) and kort (“card”), written as one word in Danish. et ordkort is “a word card”; the indefinite plural is also ordkort, while the definite plural is ordkortene (“the word cards”). In this sentence, disse supplies the plural demonstrative meaning. Together, Lad os + the infinitive bruge forms the suggestion “let’s use”, and disse ordkort identifies the plural items: “these word cards”. The complete utterance is therefore “Let’s use these word cards.”

3. Jeg kan ikke huske dette ord.

   I can't remember this one.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   ikke

   not

   huske

   remember

   dette

   this

   ord

   word

   More detail

   Jeg kan means “I can.” Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. kan is the present form of kunne, “can/be able to”. With a modal verb such as kan, the following verb stays in the infinitive: Jeg kan huske = “I can remember.” ikke means “not”. In this sentence it negates the ability expressed by kan ... huske: Jeg kan ikke huske means “I can’t remember.” huske means “remember”. It is the infinitive form, used after kan. Example: Jeg husker navnet. — “I remember the name.” Here husker is the present form used without a modal. dette means “this”. It is the neuter singular form of the demonstrative. It agrees with the neuter noun ord; the form is not chosen merely because the noun is singular. A useful contrast is denne with a common-gender singular noun, while dette is used with a neuter singular noun. ord means “word”. It is a neuter noun: et ord means “a word”, and ordet means “the word”. In the fixed sentence, dette ord identifies the word being referred to as “this one” in the translation. Together, Jeg kan + ikke + huske forms the negated ability “I can’t remember”. Dette ord is the object, “this word/this one”. Thus the complete utterance means “I can’t remember this one.”

4. Se på eksempelsætningen.

   Look at the example sentence.

   Se på

   look at

   eksempelsætningen

   the example sentence

   More detail

   Se på is the imperative of se (“to see/look”) followed by på (“at/on”). Together, se på means “look at” when directing someone’s attention to something. The imperative addresses the listener directly and does not state who that person is. Example: Se på billedet. — “Look at the picture.” eksempelsætningen means “the example sentence.” It is a compound noun: eksempel (“example”) + sætning (“sentence”). The definite ending -en appears on the final part, as in sætningen (“the sentence”), so the compound is definite as a whole. The indefinite forms are et eksempel (“an example”) and en sætning (“a sentence”); the compound’s grammatical gender follows its final noun, sætning, which is common gender. Example: Jeg skriver en eksempelsætning. — “I am writing an example sentence.” Together, Se på eksempelsætningen. gives the direct instruction “Look at the example sentence.”

5. Sætningen hjælper mig med at huske ordet.

   The sentence helps me remember it.

   Sætningen

   the sentence

   hjælper

   helps

   mig

   me

   huske

   remember

   ordet

   the word

   More detail

   Sætningen means “the sentence” here. It is the definite singular form of sætning: en sætning = “a sentence”, sætningen = “the sentence”. The ending -en marks definiteness for this common-gender noun. In this utterance, it is the subject—the thing that helps. hjælper is the present-tense form of hjælpe, “to help”. With a third-person singular subject such as sætningen, Danish uses hjælper; the present form does not add a separate person ending. A reusable pattern is X hjælper Y = “X helps Y”. mig means “me”. It is the object form of the first-person singular pronoun: jeg is used for “I” as subject, while mig is used for “me” after a verb or preposition. Here, the sentence helps me, so mig is the person receiving the help. huske is the infinitive “to remember”. The form remains huske after at; Danish commonly uses med at in the construction hjælpe nogen med at + infinitive, meaning “help someone to do something”. Example: Hun hjælper mig med at læse. — “She helps me read.” ordet means “the word”. It is the definite singular form of ord: et ord = “a word”, ordet = “the word”. The ending -et marks definiteness for this neuter noun. In the supplied translation, this is the thing referred to by “it”. Together, Sætningen hjælper mig med at huske ordet forms the pattern “The sentence helps me remember the word.” Sætningen is the helper, mig is the person helped, and ordet is what is remembered. The full fixed utterance therefore means: “The sentence helps me remember it.”

6. Prøv et andet kort, og se først på eksemplet.

   Try another card and check the example first.

   Prøv

   try

   et andet

   another

   kort

   card

   se … på

   check/look at

   først

   first

   eksemplet

   the example

   More detail

   Prøv means “try” here and is the imperative of prøve (“to try”). The imperative commonly uses the verb stem without the infinitive marker at: Prøv! = “Try!” The present form is prøver, as in Jeg prøver kortet (“I am trying the card”). et andet means “another.” et is the indefinite article used with an en/et-neutral singular noun here; it does not by itself state a numerical count. anden changes to andet because it describes the neutral noun kort: en anden with an en-noun, et andet with an et-noun, and andre with plural nouns. kort means “card” in this sentence. Its base form is kort; the definite singular form is kortet, and the plural form is also kort (with definite plural kortene). In et andet kort, the noun is indefinite and singular, while andet supplies the “another” meaning. se ... på is the reusable pattern “look at” or, in this context, “check.” The verb is se (“to see/look”), whose present form is ser. The preposition på is part of the construction here: Se på kortet means “Look at the card.” The two parts are separated in the sentence because først is placed between them; they should therefore be understood together rather than as one fused word. først means “first.” It is an adverb and tells us that checking the example should happen before the other relevant action or step. For example, Læs først means “Read first.” eksemplet means “the example.” It is the definite singular form of the et-noun et eksempel: et eksempel = “an example,” eksemplet = “the example.” The definite ending identifies a particular example in the situation, without changing the noun’s basic meaning. The first clause, Prøv et andet kort, is an imperative: “Try another card.” The conjunction og links it to a second imperative clause, se først på eksemplet: “check the example first.” Together, Prøv et andet kort, og se først på eksemplet. means “Try another card and check the example first.”

7. Jeg vil prøve det næste kort nu.

   I will try the next card now.

   Jeg vil

   I will

   prøve

   try

   det

   the (in this noun phrase)

   næste

   next

   kort

   card

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Jeg vil means “I will” here. Jeg is the first-person singular subject, and vil is the present form of ville, used with an infinitive to express a future action or intention. The construction is reusable as Jeg vil + infinitive: Jeg vil læse. means “I will read.” prøve means “try” here. It is the infinitive form, used after the modal verb vil; it does not take a personal ending in this construction. Prøv in the preceding sentence is the imperative form of the same verb: “Try.” det is the neuter singular form of the definite article in det næste kort, corresponding to “the” in the fixed translation. Here it is part of the definite noun phrase, not the independent pronoun “it.” næste means “next.” In this noun phrase it is used with a definite singular noun phrase. Danish also uses næste in forms such as den næste dag (“the next day”) and de næste dage (“the next days”); the adjective itself remains næste in these examples. kort means “card” here. This is a neuter noun: et kort means “a card,” and the definite form is kortet, “the card.” The noun can have other meanings in other contexts, but the fixed translation identifies the card sense here. nu means “now.” It places the intended attempt at the present time. For example, Jeg læser nu. means “I am reading now.” Together, Jeg vil prøve gives “I will try,” and det næste kort gives “the next card.” Adding nu produces the complete meaning: “I will try the next card now.”

8. Læs sætningen først, og sig så ordet.

   Read the sentence first, then say the word.

   Læs

   read

   sætningen

   the sentence

   først

   first

   sig

   say

   så

   then

   ordet

   the word

   More detail

   Læs is the imperative of læse (“to read”). It gives a direct instruction to one or more people; the subject is understood rather than stated. For example: Læs teksten. — “Read the text.” sætningen means “the sentence” here. It is the definite singular form of sætning (“sentence”): en sætning = “a sentence”, sætningen = “the sentence”. The ending -en marks common-gender definite singular in this noun. først means “first” and places the reading before the later action. It is an adverb, so it does not change to agree with a noun. Example: Læs først. — “Read first.” sig is the imperative of sige (“to say”). The verb is irregular: sige → sig. It means that the listener should produce the word aloud; it is not the verb se (“to see”). Example: Sig dit navn. — “Say your name.” så means “then” in this sentence. It marks the later step in the sequence. Together with først, the pattern først ..., så ... means “first ..., then ...”. ordet means “the word” here. It is the definite singular form of ord (“word”): et ord = “a word”, ordet = “the word”. This noun is neuter, so its indefinite article is et and its definite ending is -et. The utterance has two coordinated imperatives: Læs sætningen først (“Read the sentence first”) and sig så ordet (“then say the word”). The first action is reading the sentence; after that, the listener is instructed to say the word. The complete meaning is: “Read the sentence first, then say the word.”