Checking a message before sending | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kan du tjekke denne besked?

   Can you check this message?

   Kan du

   can you

   tjekke

   check

   denne

   this

   besked

   message

   More detail

   Kan du combines kan, the present-tense form of the modal verb kunne (“can/be able to”), with du, the second-person singular pronoun (“you”). In a question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Kan du ...? means “Can you ...?” or “Are you able to ...?” The modal is followed by an infinitive without at. tjekke is the infinitive of tjekke, “to check.” After a modal such as kan, Danish uses the infinitive directly: kan tjekke, not kan at tjekke. Example: Jeg kan tjekke det. — “I can check it.” denne means “this” and is the singular common-gender form of the demonstrative. It agrees with the noun it points to; the neuter singular form is dette, and the plural form is disse. Here, denne modifies besked, so it identifies one particular message as the relevant one. besked means “message.” Its indefinite form is en besked; its definite singular form is beskeden, and its plural is beskeder. The noun is common gender, which is why the matching singular demonstrative here is denne rather than dette. Together, Kan du tjekke asks whether the listener is able or willing to check something. denne besked supplies the object: “this message.” The whole utterance is therefore: “Can you check this message?” It is a direct, ordinary request phrased as a question.

2. Jeg kan læse den nu.

   I can read it now.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   læse

   read

   den

   it

   nu

   now

   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”; it is also used with other subjects, for example Hun kan læse = “She can read.” After kan, Danish uses the infinitive without at: kan læse, not kan at læse. læse means “read” here. It is the infinitive of læse; the present form is læser, as in Jeg læser nu = “I am reading now.” With the modal kan, the infinitive is the appropriate form: Jeg kan læse = “I can read.” den means “it” here. It is the singular common-gender third-person object pronoun, referring here to the message identified by the surrounding context. Danish also uses den before a singular common-gender noun as a demonstrative: den besked = “that message.” This differs from the definite noun form beskeden = “the message.” nu means “now” and places the reading at the present time. It can also appear elsewhere in a sentence, for example Nu kan jeg læse = “Now I can read”; the time meaning remains the same. Together, Jeg kan læse den nu follows the pattern [subject] + [modal] + [infinitive] + [object] + [time word] and means “I can read it now.” Here kan læse expresses the speaker’s ability to read the message at the present time.

3. Ser beskeden tydelig ud?

   Does it look clear?

   Ser … ud

   looks

   beskeden

   the message

   tydelig

   clear

   More detail

   Ser … ud is a common Danish construction meaning “looks/seems …”. The verb ser is the present-tense form of se (“to see”). With ud, it describes how something appears: Det ser godt ud. — “It looks good.” In this question, the two parts are separated because beskeden and tydelig come between them. beskeden means “the message” here. Its base form is besked (“message”); the ending -en marks the definite singular form for this noun: en besked — “a message”, beskeden — “the message”. The fixed translation identifies the thing being evaluated as “it”, and the supplied wording identifies it as the message. tydelig means “clear” here. It is an adjective describing how the message appears. In Danish, the adjective changes with the noun’s form: en tydelig besked — “a clear message”, et tydeligt svar — “a clear answer”, tydelige beskeder — “clear messages”. The form tydelig is the common-gender singular form used with beskeden. The question begins with the present-tense verb Ser, followed by the subject beskeden. The adjective tydelig describes the subject, and ud completes the “look/seem” construction. Together, Ser beskeden tydelig ud? means “Does the message look clear?” or, in the fixed translation’s wording, “Does it look clear?”

4. Hovedpointen er nem at forstå.

   The main point is easy to understand.

   Hovedpointen

   the main point

   nem

   easy

   at forstå

   to understand

   More detail

   Hovedpointen means “the main point” here. It is a definite noun form: hoved (“main” or “head”) + point (“point”) + the definite ending -en. The ending marks this as a specific point, rather than an indefinite “a main point.” Example: Pointen er klar. — “The point is clear.” nem means “easy.” It is the adjective used with the common-gender singular subject Hovedpointen; the form is not a verb inflection. In Danish, an adjective can be followed by at plus an infinitive to describe how easy or difficult an action is. Example: Det er nemt at se. — “It is easy to see.” Here nemt is neuter because det is neuter; that is distinct from the nem used with Hovedpointen. at forstå means “to understand.” at marks the infinitive, and forstå is the infinitive form of the verb. The same verb appears in other forms, such as forstår (“understands/is understanding” in a present-tense clause) and forstod (“understood”). Example: Jeg prøver at forstå det. — “I am trying to understand it.” The linking verb er connects the subject to its description: Hovedpointen er nem — “The main point is easy.” The construction nem at forstå specifies what is easy: understanding the main point. Together, Hovedpointen er nem at forstå. means “The main point is easy to understand.”

5. Kan du se nogen fejl?

   Do you see any mistakes?

   Kan du

   can you

   se

   see

   nogen

   any

   fejl

   mistakes

   More detail

   Kan du is the question frame “can you …?” Danish places kan before the subject du in this yes/no question. kan is the present form of kunne (“can, be able to”), and du is the singular informal second-person pronoun. After kan, the other verb stays in its infinitive form. Example: Kan du hjælpe? — “Can you help?” se means “see” here. Its base form is se; after the modal kan, this infinitive form is used rather than a finite form. The same verb can be used for visual perception or, depending on context, understanding or noticing. Example: Jeg kan se problemet. — “I can see the problem.” nogen means “any” in this question. It is used before fejl to ask whether there are mistakes at all, without specifying which ones or how many. In other contexts, nogen can have other related uses, but “any” is the relevant meaning here. fejl means “mistakes” in this sentence. The form is notable because Danish uses fejl both for the indefinite singular (“a mistake”) and the indefinite plural (“mistakes”): en fejl, flere fejl. The definite forms are fejlen (“the mistake”) and fejlene (“the mistakes”). Here, nogen makes the plural reading appropriate. Together, Kan du + se asks about the listener’s ability or opportunity to see, nogen means “any,” and fejl identifies the things being looked for. The complete utterance therefore means: “Do you see any mistakes?”

6. Jeg kan se én lille stavefejl nær slutningen.

   I see one small spelling mistake near the end.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   se

   see

   én

   one

   lille

   small

   stavefejl

   spelling mistake

   nær

   near

   slutningen

   the end

   More detail

   Jeg kan combines Jeg (“I”) with kan, the present-tense form of kunne (“can; be able to”). Together with se, it forms the construction translated here as “I see.” Danish modal verbs such as kan are followed by the other verb in its infinitive form without at: Jeg kan se = “I can see.” Example: Jeg kan hjælpe. — “I can help.” se is the infinitive “to see.” After kan, it keeps this form rather than taking a personal ending. Example: Hun kan se huset. — “She can see the house.” én explicitly means “one” here, so the sentence identifies a single mistake. The accent distinguishes this counting word from the closely related indefinite article en; Danish also uses ét for “one” with neuter nouns. Example: Jeg har én bog. — “I have one book.” lille means “small” here and describes stavefejl. Its base form is lille; the plural form is små, as in små fejl (“small mistakes”). Danish uses lille with a singular noun in this pattern, including the common-gender noun stavefejl. Example: en lille bog — “a small book.” stavefejl is the noun “spelling mistake.” It is a compound of stave (“to spell”) and fejl (“mistake”), functioning as one noun in the sentence. Its plural is stavefejl in indefinite plural, while the definite singular is stavefejlen (“the spelling mistake”). Example: Der er en stavefejl. — “There is a spelling mistake.” nær is the preposition “near.” It introduces the location or point used for comparison: nær slutningen means “near the end.” Example: Skolen ligger nær stationen. — “The school is near the station.” slutningen means “the end” in the definite singular. The noun is slutning (“ending; end”), and the ending -en marks its definite singular form: slutning → slutningen. Example: Vi er nær slutningen. — “We are near the end.” Together, Jeg kan se is rendered here as “I see,” én lille stavefejl identifies exactly one small spelling mistake, and nær slutningen locates it near the end. The complete utterance therefore means: “I see one small spelling mistake near the end.”

7. Jeg retter den nu.

   I will fix that now.

   Jeg

   I

   retter

   fix

   den

   that

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Jeg is the Danish first-person singular subject pronoun, meaning “I.” It is the form used for the speaker as the subject; Danish does not change it for the speaker’s gender. Example: Jeg læser. — “I am reading.” retter is the present-tense form of rette, “to fix” or “to correct.” In this context, the correction concerns the item identified in the surrounding text as having a spelling mistake. The present tense can describe an action happening now and, with nu, gives the intended immediate meaning. Example: Jeg retter fejlen. — “I am correcting the mistake.” den is a third-person singular object pronoun for a common-gender referent. Here it means “that” or “it,” referring to the item being corrected. Compare det, used for a neuter-gender singular referent, and dem, used for plural objects; the choice depends on the referent’s grammatical form, not simply on physical size. Example: Jeg sender den. — “I am sending it.” nu means “now” and places the action at the present time. Example: Jeg gør det nu. — “I am doing it now.” Together, Jeg retter den nu. has the pattern “I fix/correct it now.” The subject is Jeg, the action is retter, den identifies what is being fixed, and nu makes the timing immediate. With the fixed translation, the complete intended meaning is “I will fix that now.”

8. Efter det burde den være klar til at sende.

   After that, it should be ready to send.

   Efter det

   after that

   burde

   should

   den

   it

   være

   be

   klar

   ready

   sende

   send

   More detail

   Efter det means “after that.” efter places an event or time after a reference point, and det is the neuter singular demonstrative or pronoun “that/it.” Here, the fixed translation supports “that” as the reference point. A reusable pattern is efter det + clause: “after that, …” burde means “should” or “ought to” here, expressing an expectation. It is a modal form related to bør; both can be followed by an infinitive. For example, Du burde hvile means “You should rest.” In this sentence, burde presents the state as expected rather than asserting it as a certainty. den is a third-person singular pronoun meaning “it” here. Danish uses den with a common-gender singular referent, while det is used with a neuter singular referent; the pronoun’s form reflects grammatical class and does not identify the referent by itself. The fixed translation supports the English pronoun “it.” være is the infinitive “to be.” Its present-tense form is er (“am/is/are”). After the modal burde, Danish uses the infinitive: burde være = “should be.” For example, Det burde være nemt means “It should be easy.” klar means “ready” here. It is a descriptive adjective, and in være klar it describes the subject’s state: “be ready.” Klar can also mean “clear” in other contexts, but “ready” is the sense supported here. The sequence til at before sende forms the pattern klar til at + infinitive, meaning “ready to” do something. Sende is the infinitive “to send.” For example, Hun er klar til at begynde means “She is ready to begin.” Together, Efter det sets the time relation, burde adds the expectation “should,” and den være klar til at sende says that it should be ready for the sending action. The complete meaning is: “After that, it should be ready to send.”