Planning a Movie at Home | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Hvad med en film derhjemme?

   How about a movie at home?

   Hvad med

   How about

   film

   movie

   derhjemme

   at home

   More detail

   Hvad med is a reusable Danish construction for suggesting an option: “How about …?” Literally, hvad is “what” and med is “with,” but together here they introduce a proposal rather than ask about an object. For example: Hvad med kaffe? — “How about coffee?” film means “movie” here. Its base form is film; the plural is commonly film as well, with the number shown by surrounding words when needed. In this sentence, the nearby indefinite article en makes it singular and indefinite: en film, “a movie.” The article does not by itself express a numerical count beyond presenting one unspecified instance. Example: Jeg ser en film. — “I am watching a movie.” derhjemme is an adverb meaning “at home.” It specifies the place associated with the proposed movie activity. It is a single fused word in Danish, not a phrase that should be split into separate quoted words. Example: Vi spiser derhjemme. — “We eat at home.” Together, Hvad med introduces the suggestion, en film names the proposed option, and derhjemme adds its location. The whole utterance therefore means “How about a movie at home?”

2. Det lyder rart og nemt.

   That sounds nice and easy.

   Det

   that

   lyder

   sounds

   rart

   nice

   nemt

   easy

   More detail

   Det is the subject form used here for “that,” referring to the situation or proposal being evaluated. In this sentence it is not a noun that names a particular object. Danish det is the neuter singular form; its exact referent is supplied by context. lyder means “sounds” here, from lyde “to sound.” It is the present-tense form, and Danish present-tense verbs do not change for the subject’s person or number: jeg lyder, du lyder, and det lyder all use lyder. The pattern Det lyder ... is reusable for giving an impression: Det lyder godt. — “That sounds good.” rart means “nice” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective rar, because it follows det. The same adjective has the common-gender form rar, as in en rar idé — “a nice idea.” Its meaning can vary with context, but here it expresses a positive evaluation of the situation. nemt means “easy” here, from the adjective nem. It is also in the neuter singular form, matching det: Det er nemt. — “It is easy.” With a common-gender noun, the form is nem, as in en nem film — “an easy film” (for example, one that is easy to follow). Here rart and nemt are coordinated predicate adjectives, so both describe the situation introduced by det. Together, Det lyder rart og nemt. means “That sounds nice and easy.” The structure is Det lyder + adjective og adjective: “That sounds [adjective] and [adjective].” In the supplied exchange, this is a positive assessment of the suggested plan, without changing the suggestion into a statement that it has already happened.

3. Lad os vælge en kort film.

   Let's choose a short movie.

   Lad os

   let's

   vælge

   choose

   kort

   short

   film

   movie

   More detail

   Lad os is a reusable way to make a suggestion involving the speaker and at least one other person: “let’s …”. Lad is the imperative of lade (“to let”); here it forms the suggestion pattern Lad os + infinitive. os means “us” and is the object form of vi (“we”). vælge means “to choose” here. It is the infinitive, used after Lad os; the same infinitive can be reused in patterns such as at vælge (“to choose”) or after other forms that require an infinitive. Example: Vi vil vælge en film. — “We will choose a movie.” kort describes something with little length or duration; here it means “short” in relation to the film’s duration. Its base form is kort. In Danish, the adjective is kort with a common-gender singular noun such as film, kort with a neuter singular noun, and korte in the plural or definite forms. Example: en kort bog — “a short book.” film means “film” or “movie”. It is a common-gender noun, shown here by the indefinite article en; its plural is film in the usual plural form, for example to film — “two films.” Together, Lad os vælge gives “Let’s choose,” and en kort film gives “a short movie.” The complete utterance is therefore “Let’s choose a short movie.” This is a natural, reusable suggestion pattern: Lad os + infinitive + object.

4. Så kan vi blive færdige, før det bliver sent.

   Then we can finish before it gets late.

   Så

   then

   kan vi

   we can

   blive

   become; get

   færdige

   finished

   før

   before

   bliver

   gets; becomes

   sent

   late

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and sets the consequence or next step. It can also have other meanings in Danish, but this use connects the sentence to what has just been proposed. kan vi combines the present form kan of kunne (“can/be able to”) with vi (“we”). With Så at the beginning, Danish main-clause word order places the finite verb before the subject: Så kan vi ... = “Then we can ...”. Compare Vi kan ... = “We can ...” when the subject comes first. The modal kan is followed by an infinitive, here blive. blive is the infinitive form corresponding to the present-tense form bliver, and commonly means “become” or “get”. With færdige, the combination blive færdige expresses completing something or reaching a finished state; in this sentence it is naturally translated “finish”. Example: Vi kan blive færdige i dag. — “We can finish today.” færdige is the plural form of the adjective færdig, “finished”. It describes the plural subject vi: vi bliver færdige = “we become finished” or, more naturally, “we finish”. The adjective’s plural ending belongs to færdige, not to vi. før introduces a time relation and means “before”. It is followed here by the clause det bliver sent, so the sentence says that finishing happens earlier than the time described by that clause. Example: Kom før det bliver mørkt. — “Come before it gets dark.” bliver is the present-tense form of blive, “become/get”. In det bliver sent, it describes a change into a late time rather than an action by a named person. Example: Det bliver koldt. — “It gets cold.” sent means “late” in this expression. It is the neuter singular form related to sen, and it agrees with the neuter det in det bliver sent. The expression det bliver sent is the usual way to say “it gets late”. Together, Så kan vi gives “Then we can”, blive færdige gives the intended idea “finish”, and før det bliver sent gives “before it gets late”. The complete utterance is: “Then we can finish before it gets late.”

5. Jeg kan tage lidt frugt med.

   I can bring some fruit.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   tage

   take

   lidt

   some; a little

   frugt

   fruit

   med

   along; with

   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.” Danish modal verbs such as kan are followed by an infinitive without at: Jeg kan komme means “I can come.” tage means “take,” but with the following med it forms the useful construction tage med, “take/bring along.” Tage is the infinitive; its present form is tager: Jeg tager frugt med means “I bring fruit along.” The best English choice depends on the direction and situation, while the Danish construction focuses on taking something along. lidt means “some” or “a little” here. It is used with an amount that is not presented as a specific count. For example, lidt vand means “some water.” Danish also has nogle for “some” with plural countable things, as in nogle æbler, “some apples.” frugt means “fruit.” It can refer to fruit as food or as an uncounted amount, as in lidt frugt. When referring to one individual piece or type of fruit, Danish can also use the countable noun en frugt, “a piece/type of fruit,” depending on the intended meaning. med means “with” and can also mean “along” when it marks something taken along. In tage ... med, it completes the separable-looking meaning “take/bring ... along.” For example, Hun tager en bog med means “She brings a book along.” Together, Jeg kan gives the ability or possibility, tage ... med gives the action of bringing something along, and lidt frugt identifies what is brought. The complete utterance therefore means: “I can bring some fruit.”

6. Det ville være rart med en let snack.

   A light snack would be nice.

   Det

   it

   ville

   would

   være

   be

   rart

   nice; pleasant

   med

   with

   let

   light

   snack

   snack

   More detail

   Det ville være rart is a useful Danish pattern for saying that something would be nice. Here, Det is a dummy or anticipatory subject; in this sentence it does not identify a particular thing. ville is the past-tense form of vil, used here to express “would,” and være is the infinitive “be” that follows the modal. Together, they present the situation as desirable or hypothetical rather than as something already happening. Example: Det ville være rart med te. — “It would be nice to have tea.” rart means “nice” or “pleasant” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective rar; rar is the common-gender singular form, and rare is used in plural and definite contexts. In this sentence, rart is part of the impersonal expression and does not directly agree with snack. med means “with.” In the pattern rart med ..., it introduces what would be nice to have. Example: Det er rart med kaffe. — “It is nice to have coffee.” let means “light” here, describing snack as not heavy or substantial. It is the common-gender singular form in this noun phrase; the spelling is also let with a neuter singular noun, while the plural or definite form is lette. This adjective is different from the verb lette, meaning “to ease” or “to lift.” snack is the noun “snack.” In the full phrase, en before it forms en let snack, an indefinite singular noun phrase. en is the indefinite article used with a common-gender singular noun; it is not itself a standalone word for a numerical quantity. Putting the parts together, Det ville være rart med en let snack. says that having a light snack would be pleasant: “A light snack would be nice.” The reusable pattern is Det ville være rart med ..., followed by the thing that would be pleasant.

7. Skal jeg også tage te med?

   Should I bring tea too?

   Skal jeg

   Should I

   også

   also; too

   tage … med

   bring along

   te

   tea

   More detail

   Skal jeg puts the modal verb skal before the subject jeg, which is the normal order for a yes/no question in Danish. Here skal gives the intended meaning “should,” while jeg means “I.” After a modal verb, Danish uses the infinitive without at: Skal jeg komme? means “Should I come?” også means “also” or “too.” It adds this action to something already relevant in the context. Its position can change with emphasis, but in this sentence it comes before the verb phrase: jeg også tage med. tage med is a useful verb-particle combination meaning “bring along” in this context. The verb is tage (“take”); med adds the idea that the object goes along with the person. After skal, tage remains in the infinitive: skal ... tage med. The same combination can describe taking something along from the speaker’s perspective, while the English translation may naturally use “bring.” te means “tea.” It is a noun used here without an article because the sentence refers to tea generally as something to bring, rather than asserting a particular serving or a numeric quantity. Together, Skal jeg + også + tage ... med + te forms the yes/no question “Should I bring tea too?” The speaker asks whether bringing tea should be added to the relevant plan, with også marking it as an additional item or action.

8. Det ville også være rart med te.

   Tea would be nice too.

   Det

   it

   ville

   would

   også

   too; also

   være

   be

   rart

   nice; pleasant

   med

   with

   te

   tea

   More detail

   Det is an impersonal or anticipatory subject here. It does not identify a particular person or thing; in the pattern Det ville være rart med X, the following situation or item is what would be nice. Danish det is also the neuter singular form of “it/that,” but its concrete referent is not specified in this sentence. ville is the past-tense form of vil. When followed by another verb in the infinitive, it commonly expresses a conditional meaning like “would”: vil → ville. In this sentence it is not the main verb “want”; it helps form the hypothetical or polite “would be nice.” også means “also” or “too.” It adds tea as another suitable addition. Its position before være lets it modify the whole “would be nice” assessment rather than functioning as part of the noun te. være is the infinitive of er (“is/am/are”) and follows the modal ville: ville være = “would be.” A useful pattern is Det ville være ... (“It would be ...”). rart means “nice” or “pleasant” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective rar; the form rar is used with common-gender singular nouns, while rare is used in the plural. In this impersonal construction, rart is the predicative adjective associated with neuter det. med means “with.” In rart med X, it introduces the item whose presence or inclusion would be nice: Det er rart med musik. — “It is nice to have music.” This example is new practice, not an additional fact about the supplied conversation. te is the noun “tea.” The phrase med te therefore means “with tea,” or more naturally in this construction, “to have tea.” Together, Det ville være rart med te follows the reusable pattern Det ville være rart med X: “It would be nice to have X.” Adding også gives “It would also be nice to have tea,” naturally translated here as “Tea would be nice too.”