Waiting for your turn in line | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Er denne kø til skranken?

   Is this line for the counter?

   Er denne

   Is this?

   kø

   line; queue

   til

   for; to

   skranken

   counter; desk

   More detail

   Er denne begins a yes/no question. Er is the present form of være (“to be”): jeg er = “I am,” while denne means “this” and is the singular common-gender form used with a common-gender noun such as kø. In a Danish yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject/demonstrative: Er denne ...? Compare the statement Denne ... er .... kø means “line” or “queue” here, specifically a line of people waiting. It is a common-gender noun: en kø, definite køen (“the line”). The noun itself does not indicate how many people are in the line; that comes from context. til links kø to its destination or purpose. In this sentence, til skranken means “for the counter,” identifying which counter the line is intended for. The same preposition can also express movement toward a place, as in the example Vi går til stationen. — “We are walking to the station.” skranken means “the counter” or “the desk.” Its base form is skranke; skranken is the definite singular form, formed with the ending -n: en skranke = “a counter,” skranken = “the counter.” This form does not mean simply “counter” without the definite article. Together, Er denne kø til skranken? asks whether this particular line is the one intended for the counter: “Is this line for the counter?” The question structure is reusable as Er denne [noun] til [place or destination]?.

2. Det er her, den starter.

   This is where it starts.

   Det er

   This is

   her

   here

   den

   it

   starter

   starts

   More detail

   Det er uses the present-tense form er of være (“to be”). In this sentence, det and er form the opening “this is/it is”; together with the following location phrase, the natural meaning is “This is where …”. Er is used with all subjects in the present tense, so it does not change for person or number. Example: Det er vigtigt. — “It is important.” her means “here”, referring to the relevant place in the situation. It is a location word and does not change for number or gender. Example: Hun bor her. — “She lives here.” den is a third-person singular pronoun for a common-gender referent. Here, the fixed translation identifies it as “it”; the supplied sentence does not identify the thing more specifically. Danish also has det as the corresponding singular pronoun for a neuter-gender referent, so the choice between den and det depends on the grammatical gender of the noun being referred to, not simply on its English translation. starter is the present-tense form of starte, “to start/begin”. The ending -er is typical of the present tense for this verb: at starte → starter. Example: Filmen starter nu. — “The film starts now.” The pattern Det er her, [subject] [present-tense verb] identifies a place as the point at which an event begins. Thus Det er her gives “This is where”, den supplies the subject “it”, and starter says that it starts. Together, the utterance means “This is where it starts.”

3. Skal jeg have en billet?

   Do I need a ticket?

   Skal jeg

   Should I…?; do I need to…?

   have

   have

   billet

   ticket

   More detail

   Skal jeg is a reusable Danish question pattern: skal is the modal verb, and jeg means “I.” In a question, the modal comes before the subject: Skal jeg ...? can mean “Should I ...?” or, as here, “Do I need to ...?” Here it expresses a need, not a prediction. have is the infinitive of at have, “to have.” After the modal skal, Danish uses the infinitive without at: skal ... have. In this utterance, have is part of the expression meaning “need to have” a ticket. Example: Skal jeg have pas? — “Do I need a passport?” billet is a noun meaning “ticket.” The source uses the indefinite noun phrase en billet, “a ticket”; en marks the noun phrase as indefinite, but it does not by itself state a numerical count as a separate claim. Danish nouns commonly use either en or et with indefinite singular forms; this noun uses en. Together, Skal jeg have en billet? asks whether the speaker needs a ticket: “Do I need a ticket?” The word order is the question pattern skal + subject + infinitive + noun phrase.

4. Tag en fra denne kasse.

   Take one from this box.

   Tag

   take

   en

   one

   fra

   from

   denne

   this

   kasse

   box

   More detail

   Tag is the imperative of tage, “to take.” The imperative gives a direct instruction and normally has the same form for singular and plural addressees. Example: Tag bogen. — “Take the book.” en means “one” here: it stands alone for one item rather than introducing a noun. The same form can also be the indefinite article before a common-gender noun, but that is not its role in this sentence. Example: Jeg vil have en. — “I want one.” fra means “from” and marks the source or starting point of an action. Example: Hun kommer fra skolen. — “She is coming from the school.” denne means “this” and points to one nearby or contextually identified common-gender noun. Danish distinguishes denne for singular common-gender nouns, dette for singular neuter nouns, and disse for plural nouns. In this sentence, denne points to the box named by the following noun. kasse means “box” or “container.” It is a common-gender noun: en kasse means “a box,” while the definite form is kassen, “the box.” Example: Kassen er stor. — “The box is big.” Together, Tag en gives the instruction “Take one,” fra adds the source “from,” and denne kasse identifies that source as “this box.” The complete utterance therefore means “Take one from this box.”

5. Hvornår er det min tur?

   When is my turn?

   Hvornår

   when

   er det

   is it

   min tur

   my turn

   More detail

   Hvornår means “when” and asks about a time or point in a sequence. Compare it with hvor “where” and hvem “who”. Example: Hvornår kommer du? — “When are you coming?” er det contains er, the present-tense form of være (“to be”), and det, a neuter singular pronoun. Here, det is the subject in the pattern det er ... (“it is ...”); it does not identify a particular person. In the question, the verb comes before the subject: Hvornår er det ...? min tur means “my turn”. tur means “turn” here: a person's place or opportunity in an order. In other contexts, tur can also mean “trip” or “ride”. It is a common-gender noun, commonly introduced with en: en tur. min is the first-person singular possessive used with a common-gender singular noun. With a neuter singular noun, Danish uses mit, and with plural nouns it uses mine: min tur, mit navn, mine bøger — “my turn”, “my name”, “my books”. Together, Hvornår + er det + min tur asks at what point it will be the speaker's turn, giving the fixed meaning “When is my turn?”

6. Du står bag den person.

   You're after that person.

   Du

   you

   står bag

   stand behind

   den

   that

   person

   person

   More detail

   Du is the Danish second-person singular subject pronoun: “you.” It is used for one person and does not itself indicate gender. Example: Du venter. — “You are waiting.” står bag combines står, the present form of stå (“to stand”), with bag (“behind”). Literally, it describes being positioned behind someone; in the supplied context about whose turn it is, that position naturally gives the queue-related meaning “be after someone.” The verb stå is irregular: stå → står in the present. Example: Hun står bag mig. — “She is standing behind me.” den here is the demonstrative “that,” used with the following singular noun. In den person, it points to the person intended in the utterance; it is not the verb’s subject. Danish also uses den as a definite article in other structures, but the fixed translation supports the demonstrative reading here. person means “person” and is a common-gender singular noun. Its plural is personer (“people/persons”); the form in the utterance is singular. Together, Du + står bag + den person means “You are standing behind that person.” With the preceding question about whose turn it is, the fixed translation conveys the related queue meaning “You’re after that person.”

7. Jeg venter her.

   I will wait here.

   Jeg

   I

   venter

   wait

   her

   here

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out the action. A reusable pattern is Jeg + a verb: Jeg læser. — “I read.” venter is the present-tense form of vente, “to wait.” In this utterance, the fixed translation uses English future wording, “will wait”; Danish present tense can describe a future action when the intended time is clear from context. The form venter is not an imperative: it presents the speaker’s waiting as the action. For example, Jeg venter på bussen. means “I am waiting for the bus.” her is a place adverb meaning “here.” It locates the waiting at the place associated with the speaker; it does not itself identify a particular object or person. For example, Hun bor her. means “She lives here.” Together, Jeg + venter gives “I will wait,” and adding her specifies the location: “I will wait here.”

8. Personen foran er næsten færdig.

   The person ahead is almost finished.

   Personen

   the person

   foran

   ahead; in front

   er

   is

   næsten

   almost

   færdig

   finished

   More detail

   Personen is the definite singular form of person (“person”): person = a person, while personen = the person. The ending -en marks definite singular for this noun. Example: En person venter. — “A person is waiting.” foran means “ahead” or “in front” in this sentence. It can describe location relative to a relevant point or person. Here it follows Personen and identifies that person as the one ahead. Example: Bilen er foran huset. — “The car is in front of the house.” er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” It is used here to link the subject with a description. Danish er is used with both singular and plural subjects; the subject determines who or what is being described, not a change in this verb form. Example: De er klar. — “They are ready.” næsten means “almost” or “nearly.” It limits the following description: the state has nearly been reached, but the sentence does not say it has been reached completely. Example: Jeg er næsten klar. — “I am almost ready.” færdig means “finished” or “done” here. It is the common-gender singular form of the adjective. Related forms include færdigt with a neuter singular noun and færdige with plural or definite noun phrases; the observed form is færdig, not a form of person. Example: Arbejdet er færdigt. — “The work is finished.” Together, Personen foran identifies the person who is ahead, and er næsten færdig says that this person is nearly done. The complete meaning is: “The person ahead is almost finished.”