Tired eyes and screen brightness | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Mine øjne føles trætte.

   My eyes feel tired.

   Mine

   my

   øjne

   eyes

   føles

   feel

   trætte

   tired

   More detail

   Mine means “my” here and is the possessive form used with a plural noun. Danish contrasts min with a common-gender singular noun, mit with a neuter singular noun, and mine with plural nouns. The form marks the possessor as first person singular; it does not mean “one” or otherwise state a quantity. øjne means “eyes.” It is the plural of øje: et øje → øjne. The plural form is the noun that mine modifies. føles means “feel” in the sense of having a particular sensation or condition. It is the present-tense form of føle. Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change according to whether the subject is singular or plural, so the same form can occur with a singular or plural subject. Example: Jeg føler mig træt. — “I feel tired.” This is a different construction: føler means “feel” as the subject’s own action or experience, while føles presents something as having a perceptible quality. trætte means “tired.” It is the plural form of the adjective træt; the plural ending -e agrees with øjne. For example, Mine hænder er trætte. — “My hands are tired.” Together, Mine øjne means “my eyes,” føles presents their experienced condition, and trætte describes that condition. The complete utterance means “My eyes feel tired.”

2. Skærmen er måske for lys.

   The screen may be too bright.

   Skærmen

   the screen

   er

   is

   måske

   perhaps; maybe

   lys

   bright

   More detail

   Skærmen means “the screen” here. It is the definite singular form of skærm (“screen”): en skærm is “a screen,” while skærmen is “the screen.” The ending -en marks definiteness for this noun; it does not itself state a numeric count. er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”). Danish uses er with all persons and numbers: jeg er (“I am”), du er (“you are”), and de er (“they are”). Here it links the screen with the description that follows. måske means “perhaps” or “maybe.” In this sentence it makes the assessment uncertain: the speaker suggests that the screen may be too bright, rather than asserting this as certain. Example: Måske regner det. — “Maybe it is raining.” lys means “bright” in this sentence. It is the adjective’s common-gender singular form. Useful forms include lys (common-gender singular), lyst (neuter singular), lyse (plural or definite), and the comparison lysere (“brighter”), lysest (“brightest”). With for before an adjective, for lys means “too bright”; for here expresses excess, not ordinary comparison. Example: Lampen er lysere. — “The lamp is brighter.” Putting the parts together, Skærmen er identifies the screen and describes its current state, måske adds uncertainty, and for lys says that its brightness is excessive. The complete meaning is: “The screen may be too bright.”

3. Kan jeg gøre den mørkere?

   Can I make it darker?

   Kan jeg

   Can I

   gøre

   make

   den

   it

   mørkere

   darker

   More detail

   Kan jeg means “Can I?” here. kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can, be able to”), and jeg means “I.” Together they form a question about whether the speaker is able or permitted to do something. Danish places the finite modal before the subject in this yes/no question: Kan jeg ...? gøre means “make” or “do.” It is the infinitive of gøre, and it follows the modal kan without an infinitive marker. In this sentence it takes an object and describes changing that object: gøre noget ... = “make something ...” or “do something ...”. den means “it” in this sentence. It is the Danish singular object pronoun used for a common-gender referent; the preceding context identifies the referent as the screen. As an object, it comes before the adjective describing the resulting state. mørkere means “darker.” It is the comparative form of mørk (“dark”): mørk → mørkere. The comparative expresses a change toward a greater degree of darkness. For example, Gør skærmen mørkere. means “Make the screen darker.” The pattern gøre + object + comparative adjective describes causing an object to have more of a quality: gøre den mørkere = “make it darker.” With the question pattern Kan jeg ...?, the complete utterance means “Can I make it darker?”

4. Prøv at skrue ned for lysstyrken.

   Try lowering the brightness.

   Prøv

   try

   at skrue ned for

   to lower / turn down

   lysstyrken

   the brightness

   More detail

   Prøv is the imperative of prøve, “to try.” It gives a direct suggestion or instruction. The infinitive is used in examples such as Prøv at åbne vinduet. — “Try opening the window.” at skrue ned for is a reusable Danish construction meaning “to turn down” or “to reduce” something, especially a setting or level. Here, skrue is the verb “turn,” and ned for completes the construction; the form at skrue is the infinitive after Prøv at. Compare skrue op for — “turn up.” Example: Skru ned for musikken. — “Turn down the music.” lysstyrken means “the brightness” here. It is the definite singular form of the noun lysstyrke, “brightness”: en lysstyrke is “a brightness level,” while lysstyrken is “the brightness.” The ending -en marks definite singular for this noun; it is part of the observed noun form, not an ending on skrue. Together, Prøv at introduces the suggested action, skrue ned for expresses reducing a setting, and lysstyrken identifies that setting. The complete utterance means: “Try lowering the brightness.”

5. Jeg bør også hvile mine øjne.

   I should rest my eyes too.

   Jeg

   I

   bør

   should

   også

   also; too

   hvile

   rest

   mine

   my

   øjne

   eyes

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: the speaker is the subject. Danish also uses jeg as the subject form in other present-tense statements, for example Jeg læser means “I am reading / I read.” bør expresses what the speaker considers advisable or appropriate: “should.” It is the present form of burde. Unlike a form that states a strict command, bør presents the action as recommended. Example: Du bør hvile means “You should rest.” også means “also” or “too.” In this sentence it adds resting the eyes to something else that is advisable. Its position before hvile gives the sentence the sense “should also rest,” rather than making også part of the noun phrase. hvile means “to rest.” After the modal verb bør, it appears in the infinitive form: bør + hvile = “should rest.” Example: Vi bør hvile means “We should rest.” mine means “my” before a plural noun. It agrees with the possessed noun in number here: mine is used with plural nouns, while min is used with common-gender singular nouns and mit with neuter singular nouns. Example: mine hænder means “my hands.” øjne means “eyes.” It is the plural form of øje (“eye”). The plural form is used because the sentence refers to the eyes as a plural set; et øje means “an eye,” while øjne means “eyes.” Together, Jeg bør også hvile mine øjne means “I should rest my eyes too.” The structure is subject + modal verb + adverb + infinitive verb + possessive + noun: Jeg bør også hvile ... (“I should also rest ...”) and mine øjne (“my eyes”).

6. Se væk fra skærmen nu.

   Look away from the screen now.

   Se

   look

   væk

   away

   skærmen

   the screen

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Se is the imperative of at se, “to look/see.” The imperative gives a direct instruction and commonly has the same form as the verb stem: Se! = “Look!” væk is an adverb meaning “away.” Together with se and fra, it forms the reusable pattern se væk fra + something: “look away from + something.” fra means “from,” so se væk fra skærmen directs the gaze away from the screen. skærmen means “the screen.” Its base noun is skærm; skærmen is the definite singular form, marked by the ending -en. The indefinite form is en skærm (“a screen”), while skærmen refers to a specific screen understood in the situation. Example: Jeg slukker skærmen. — “I turn off the screen.” nu means “now” and places the instruction in the present moment. It is an adverb and does not change form. The complete utterance combines the imperative Se with the direction væk fra skærmen and the time adverb nu: “Look away from the screen now.”

7. Det føles bedre.

   That feels better.

   Det

   That

   føles

   feels

   bedre

   better

   More detail

   Det is the Danish neuter singular form used here for “that.” The sentence does not identify exactly what “that” refers to; it simply presents it as the subject. Danish also uses det in other subject patterns, but this sentence supports the demonstrative meaning given by the translation. føles means “feels” here: it describes how the subject is experienced. It is the present-tense form of føle in the -s form used in this expression. Compare the related pattern føle sig (“feel oneself / feel”), but do not replace the observed form with that pattern when describing this sentence. bedre means “better.” It is the comparative form of god (“good”): god → bedre → bedst (“good” → “better” → “best”). The comparative indicates an improvement relative to an understood earlier state or comparison point; the sentence does not specify what that comparison point is. Together, Det føles bedre. means “That feels better.” The subject det is what is being evaluated, føles describes its experienced quality, and bedre marks the improvement.

8. Tag en pause mere senere.

   Take another break later.

   Tag

   take

   pause

   break

   mere

   another

   senere

   later

   More detail

   Tag is the imperative of tage, “to take.” The imperative gives a direct instruction and normally has no written subject: Tag en pause. means “Take a break.” Compare the present form tager: Du tager en pause. — “You take a break.” pause means “break,” in the sense of a short rest. It is a common-gender noun, so the indefinite form is en pause; the article en is not itself a number claim here. Example: Jeg tager en pause. — “I am taking a break.” mere means “another” here because it adds one more break to the relevant plan or activity. It can also mean “more” in other contexts, but in this sentence it modifies the break as an additional one. Example: Vi har brug for mere tid. — “We need more time.” senere means “later,” referring to a time after the current or previously understood time. It is an adverb and does not change form for number or gender. Example: Vi ses senere. — “See you later.” Together, Tag en pause gives the instruction “Take a break”; mere adds that this is an additional break, and senere places it at a later time. The complete utterance therefore means “Take another break later.”