Borrowing a Book in a Quiet Library | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Dette bibliotek er meget stille.

   This library is very quiet.

   Dette

   this

   bibliotek

   library

   er

   is

   meget

   very

   stille

   quiet

   More detail

   Dette means “this” here and points to one nearby or contextually identified thing. In Danish, dette is the neuter singular form; the common-gender singular form is denne, and the plural form is disse. The form agrees with the noun it accompanies, not with the speaker. bibliotek means “library.” It is a neuter noun: et bibliotek (“a library”). Danish nouns commonly use either en or et; this noun uses et. The noun is singular here, and dette bibliotek means “this library.” er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”). The same present form is used with different subjects: jeg er (“I am”), du er (“you are”), and biblioteket er (“the library is”). meget means “very” in this sentence. It is an adverb that intensifies the adjective after it, giving the pattern meget + adjective: meget stille (“very quiet”). stille means “quiet” here. It is an adjective describing the library’s state. After meget, it remains stille; the intensifier does not change its form. A useful contrast is livlig (“lively”), as in Biblioteket er livligt (“The library is lively”); the adjective form can change when the noun’s gender and definiteness require it. Together, Dette bibliotek is the subject, er links that subject to its description, and meget stille describes its state. The complete utterance therefore means “This library is very quiet.”

2. Vi taler lavt, så folk kan studere.

   We keep our voices low so people can study.

   Vi

   we

   taler

   speak; talk

   lavt

   quietly; at a low volume

   så

   so; so that

   folk

   people

   kan

   can; be able to

   studere

   study

   More detail

   Vi means “we,” a first-person plural pronoun. It identifies the speaker together with at least one other person, but the sentence does not specify who the other people are. taler is the present-tense form of tale, “to speak” or “to talk.” In this sentence it describes the action as current or generally true: “we speak.” Example: Jeg taler dansk. — “I speak Danish.” lavt means “at a low volume” here. It is the adverbial form related to lav, “low,” and describes how the speaking is done. The adjective lav can describe a noun, while lavt in this use describes an action: en lav stemme — “a low voice”; Han taler lavt. — “He speaks quietly.” så introduces the purpose clause here: “so that.” It connects the low-volume speaking with the intended possibility described next. The pattern så [subject] kan [verb] is useful for saying “so that [someone] can [do something].” folk means “people.” It is a plural noun referring to people in general in this sentence. Example: Folk læser. — “People read.” kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can” or “be able to.” It expresses ability or possibility. After kan, the following verb appears in its infinitive form, without an infinitive marker: kan studere — “can study.” studere means “to study.” It is the infinitive after kan. Example: De kan studere her. — “They can study here.” Together, Vi taler lavt means “We speak at a low volume,” and så folk kan studere means “so that people can study.” The complete utterance is therefore: “We keep our voices low so people can study.”

3. Jeg vil gerne låne denne bog.

   I want to borrow this book.

   Jeg

   I

   vil gerne

   would like to

   låne

   borrow

   denne

   this

   bog

   book

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person who wants and will borrow the book. Compare du for “you” when addressing one person. Example: Jeg læser. — “I am reading.” vil gerne is a useful Danish construction for expressing that the subject would like or wants to do something. vil is the present form of ville, “to want” or “will,” while gerne makes the intended meaning here a friendly expression of desire: “would like to.” The following verb stays in the infinitive without an added marker: Jeg vil gerne læse. — “I would like to read.” This construction is different from vil used by itself in a future-oriented or willingness-related meaning; the surrounding wording determines the interpretation. låne is the infinitive “to borrow” here, after vil gerne. Danish låne can also mean “to lend” in a context where the subject provides something to someone, so the participants and direction of the action matter. In this sentence, the fixed translation establishes the borrowing meaning: the speaker wants to receive the book for temporary use. Example: Jeg vil gerne låne en film. — “I would like to borrow a film.” denne means “this” and is a singular demonstrative. It is the form used with an en-word such as bog; with a neuter et-word, the corresponding form is dette. The demonstrative points to a specific book understood as near or otherwise identifiable in the situation. Example: denne stol — “this chair.” bog means “book.” It is an en-word: en bog is “a book,” and its definite form is bogen, “the book.” Its plural is bøger, “books.” In the fixed sentence, bog follows denne, so the phrase refers to one specifically indicated book without using the separate indefinite article. Together, Jeg vil gerne establishes the speaker’s wish, låne says that the desired action is borrowing, and denne bog identifies the object as this particular book. The complete utterance therefore means: “I want to borrow this book.”

4. Jeg kan låne den til dig ved skranken.

   I can check it out for you at the desk.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   låne

   borrow; check out

   den

   it

   til dig

   for you

   skranken

   desk; counter

   More detail

   Jeg kan means “I can.” Jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I”. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can/be able to”. Danish commonly places kan before an infinitive: Jeg kan læse = “I can read.” Here, kan expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility, while Jeg identifies the speaker as the actor. låne is the infinitive “borrow”; in this context it means taking the item temporarily, as when checking a library item out. After a modal such as kan, the following verb stays in the infinitive: kan låne, not a present-tense form. Example: Du kan låne bogen. — “You can borrow the book.” den is a singular common-gender object pronoun meaning “it” here. In the supplied context, it refers to the item being borrowed, namely the book. The same form can also function as a definite article before a common-gender noun, as in den bog (“the book”), but it stands alone here as a pronoun. til dig means “for you” in this sentence. til is the preposition “to/for”, and dig is the object form of the second-person singular pronoun; its subject form is du (“you”). Example: Jeg giver den til dig. — “I give it to you.” skranken means “the desk” or “the counter”. It is the definite form of the noun skranke, “desk/counter”: skranke = “a desk/counter”, skranken = “the desk/counter”. In this utterance, the desk is the place associated with the borrowing. The full pattern is Jeg kan + infinitive + object + til dig + ved + definite place noun. ved means “at/by”, so ved skranken means “at the desk”. Together, Jeg kan låne den til dig ved skranken. means “I can check it out for you at the desk.”

5. Hvor skal jeg aflevere den?

   Where should I return it?

   Hvor

   where

   skal jeg

   should I…?

   aflevere

   return; hand in

   den

   it

   More detail

   Hvor means “where” here. It is a question adverb used to ask about a place or destination. For example: Hvor bor du? — “Where do you live?” skal jeg combines skal, the present form of skulle, with the subject pronoun jeg (“I”). In this question, skal expresses what the speaker should or is expected to do. Danish main-clause questions commonly place the finite verb before the subject: Skal jeg vente? — “Should I wait?” The following infinitive does not take at after this modal: Skal jeg gå? — “Should I go?” aflevere is an infinitive meaning “return” or “hand in,” especially when an item is given back to a person or place. After skal, it remains in the infinitive: Jeg skal aflevere bogen. — “I should return the book.” Its base form is already aflevere; the form does not show the subject here. den is a singular common-gender object pronoun meaning “it” in this use. It refers to the item being returned, but the supplied sentence does not identify that item by name. Danish uses den for a singular common-gender referent and det for a singular neuter-gender referent; these forms are selected by the grammatical gender of the referent, not by the fact that it is an object. Together, Hvor skal jeg aflevere den? asks at what place the speaker should return the item: “Where should I return it?” The question uses Hvor for the place, skal jeg for the speaker’s expected action, aflevere for returning or handing in, and den for the item.

6. Bring den tilbage til skranken, når du er færdig.

   Bring it back to the desk when you are finished.

   Bring

   bring

   den

   it

   til

   to

   skranken

   the desk

   når

   when

   færdig

   finished

   More detail

   Bring is the imperative of bringe, meaning “bring” or “carry” something to a destination. The imperative uses the short form bring, without a subject pronoun. Here, tilbage adds the meaning “back,” so bring ... tilbage is a reusable pattern for “bring ... back.” Example: Bring bogen tilbage. — “Bring the book back.” den means “it” here and is the object of bring. Danish den is a singular common-gender pronoun; the fixed translation and the preceding question support the reading “it” as the item being returned. Example: Jeg finder den. — “I find it.” til means “to” and introduces the destination. The pattern til + a destination is used for movement toward that place, as in gå til stationen — “go to the station.” skranken means “the desk” or “the counter.” It is the definite singular form of skranke; the indefinite form is en skranke, and the definite form adds -en: skranken. Thus til skranken means “to the desk/counter.” når introduces a time clause meaning “when.” It connects an action to the time at which another situation holds. Example: Ring, når du kommer hjem. — “Call when you get home.” færdig means “finished” or “done.” In du er færdig, the adjective follows the verb er (“are/is”) and describes the subject: “you are finished.” færdig is the common-gender singular form; with a plural subject, Danish uses færdige, as in De er færdige — “They are finished.” The sentence starts with the imperative Bring, followed by the object den and the destination phrase til skranken; tilbage specifies that the item should be brought back. The temporal clause når du er færdig says when to do this: “when you are finished.” Together, the utterance means: “Bring it back to the desk when you are finished.”

7. Pladsen ved vinduet ser behagelig ud.

   The window seat looks comfortable.

   Pladsen

   the seat / spot

   ved

   by / at

   vinduet

   the window

   ser … ud

   looks / seems

   behagelig

   comfortable / pleasant

   More detail

   Pladsen means “the seat” here. It is the definite singular form of plads, whose basic meanings include a place, spot, or seat depending on context. The ending -en marks definite singular for this noun: en plads = “a place/seat,” pladsen = “the place/seat.” Example: Der er en ledig plads. — “There is an available seat.” ved means “by” or “at” and introduces the location associated with something. The reusable pattern X ved Y can describe X as being beside or located at Y. Example: Hun sidder ved døren. — “She is sitting by the door.” vinduet means “the window.” It is the definite singular form of vindue: et vindue = “a window,” vinduet = “the window.” The ending -et is part of this noun’s definite form; it is not a separate word. ser ... ud is a two-part Danish construction meaning “looks” or “seems” when describing appearance. ser is the present-tense form of se, “to see,” while ud is a particle; together they have the relevant meaning “looks.” The particle is separated from the verb here by the adjective. Example: Huset ser stort ud. — “The house looks big.” behagelig means “comfortable” or “pleasant” here. It is the adjective in the ser ... ud construction and describes how the seat appears. Its form is the same with a common-gender singular noun such as plads; with a neuter singular noun, Danish commonly uses behageligt, and with plural nouns, behagelige. Example: Stolen er behagelig. — “The chair is comfortable.” Together, Pladsen ved vinduet identifies the seat by its location: “the seat by the window.” ser behagelig ud says that this seat appears comfortable. The complete utterance therefore means: “The window seat looks comfortable.”

8. Du kan sidde der og læse, før du går.

   You can sit there and read before you leave.

   Du kan

   you can

   sidde

   sit

   der

   there

   læse

   read

   før

   before

   går

   leave

   More detail

   Du kan means “you can” here. Du is the second-person singular/plural pronoun “you”; its exact number is not established by this sentence. kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can, be able to”). In Danish, kan is used with an infinitive to express ability or permission, and the following verb remains in the infinitive. sidde means “sit.” It is the infinitive of sidde, and it follows kan in this sentence. The pattern kan + infinitive is reusable: Du kan læse means “You can read.” der means “there.” It points to a place understood from the situation; the preceding context makes the comfortable window seat a plausible location, but der itself is the place adverb, not a replacement for a noun. læse means “read.” This is the infinitive of læse. It is coordinated with sidde after kan, so kan sidde ... og læse means “can sit ... and read.” Example: Hun kan sidde og arbejde. — “She can sit and work.” før means “before.” It introduces the event that must occur later than the reference point: før + clause means “before ...”. går means “leave” in this sentence, as supported by the fixed translation. It is the present-tense form of gå (“go; leave”), used with the subject du in the subordinate clause du går. The present form can describe a future event after a time conjunction such as før: “before you leave.” Together, Du kan sidde der og læse says “You can sit there and read.” The conjunction og links the two activities, while kan applies to both. før du går adds the time condition “before you leave.” The complete utterance therefore means: “You can sit there and read before you leave.”