Talking about a sore back | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg har ondt i ryggen.

   My back feels sore.

   Jeg

   I

   har ondt

   have pain; feel sore

   ryggen

   the back

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person experiencing the condition. Compare jeg with du (“you”) when addressing one person. har ondt is the Danish construction for having pain or feeling sore. har is the present-tense form of have (“to have”); the subject jeg uses har here. ondt is the form used in this expression, rather than a separate Danish verb meaning “to hurt.” For example, Jeg har ondt i benet. means “My leg hurts” or “I have pain in my leg.” ryggen means “the back.” Its base form is ryg (“back”), and the ending -en marks the definite singular form: ryg → ryggen, “the back.” The preposition i before it means “in,” so i ryggen specifies where the soreness is located. Together, Jeg har ondt i ryggen. literally describes the speaker as having pain in the back. In natural English, the fixed meaning is “My back feels sore.”`

2. Prøv at sidde med ret ryg.

   Try to sit up straight.

   Prøv

   try

   sidde

   sit

   ret

   straight

   ryg

   back

   More detail

   Prøv is the imperative form of prøve, “to try.” It addresses the listener directly. A useful pattern is Prøv at + infinitive: “Try to …” The word after at stays in the infinitive, as with sidde here. Example: Prøv at læse den. — “Try to read it.” sidde means “to sit” and is the infinitive used after at. It describes the posture or state of sitting; the past form is sad, as in Jeg sad for længe i dag. — “I sat for too long today.” ret describes ryg here and means “straight.” In this expression it is an adjective, not the separate adverbial use meaning “quite/fairly.” The adjective can appear in other forms depending on the noun phrase; for example, en ret linje means “a straight line.” ryg means “back.” It is the noun’s basic form. The definite form is ryggen, as in the preceding sentence Jeg har ondt i ryggen. — “My back feels sore.” Here, ryg appears in the phrase med ret ryg, without a separate article. The construction sidde med ret ryg means “sit with a straight back.” Thus Prøv at sidde med ret ryg combines the imperative Prøv with at sidde and the posture phrase med ret ryg, producing the complete meaning “Try to sit up straight.”

3. Jeg sad for længe i dag.

   I sat too long today.

   Jeg

   I

   sad

   sat

   for længe

   too long

   i dag

   today

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: a first-person singular pronoun referring to the speaker. Danish also has du for singular “you”; the pronoun changes with the participant, not with the action. sad is the past-tense form of sidde, “to sit.” The useful form chain is sidde (present infinitive), sidder (present), sad (past), siddet (past participle). For example, Jeg sidder her means “I am sitting here,” while Jeg sad her means “I sat here.” The previous sentence uses sidde after at: at sidde means “to sit.” for længe means “too long.” Here for marks an excessive degree, and længe describes duration. Compare Jeg ventede længe — “I waited a long time” — with Jeg ventede for længe — “I waited too long.” The first says the duration was long; the second says it exceeded what was suitable. i dag means “today,” a time expression. It places the sitting on the current day. For example, Jeg arbejder i dag means “I am working today.” Together, Jeg sad gives the past event “I sat,” for længe says that the duration was excessive, and i dag identifies today as the time. The complete meaning is “I sat too long today.”

4. Stræk dig langsomt, hvis du kan.

   Stretch slowly if you can.

   Stræk dig

   stretch yourself

   langsomt

   slowly

   hvis du kan

   if you can

   More detail

   Stræk dig is the imperative of strække (“to stretch”) with dig, the second-person singular object/reflexive form. Together, it tells the listener to stretch their own body. Danish imperatives commonly use the verb form without an expressed subject: Stræk dig! means “Stretch!” langsomt is an adverb meaning “slowly” here; it describes how the stretching should be done. It is related to the adjective langsom (“slow”), while langsomt is the form used adverbially in this sentence. Example: Gå langsomt. — “Walk slowly.” hvis du kan is an “if you can” condition. du is the second-person singular subject, and kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can; be able to”). The clause makes the stretching conditional on the listener’s ability or circumstances. Example: Kom, hvis du kan. — “Come if you can.” As a whole, Stræk dig langsomt, hvis du kan. combines an imperative with an adverb and a conditional clause: “Stretch yourself slowly if you can.”

5. Det føles bedre i denne stol.

   This chair feels better.

   føles

   feels

   bedre

   better

   denne

   this

   stol

   chair

   More detail

   føles comes from føle (“to feel”). Here it is the present-tense form used in det føles ..., meaning that an experience feels a certain way. Do not replace it with føler: føler is the present form when a stated subject actively feels something, as in Jeg føler mig bedre (“I feel better”). Example: Det føles rart. — “It feels nice.” bedre is the comparative form of god (“good”): god → bedre → bedst (“good” → “better” → “best”). It compares the present feeling with an understood alternative, without stating exactly what that alternative is. Example: Her føles det bedre. — “It feels better here.” denne is the singular common-gender form of the demonstrative meaning “this.” It appears with the common-gender noun stol; the corresponding neuter singular form is dette, as in dette hus (“this house”). In more conversational Danish, den her stol is also common for “this chair.” stol means “chair.” Its base form is singular indefinite stol, as in en stol; the definite singular is stolen (“the chair”), and the plural is stole (“chairs”). Example: Jeg sidder på en stol. — “I am sitting on a chair.” Together, Det føles bedre says that the experience feels better, and i denne stol places that experience in this chair. The whole utterance therefore means “This chair feels better,” or more literally, “It feels better in this chair.”

6. Bliv der i et par minutter.

   Stay there for a few minutes.

   Bliv

   stay

   der

   there

   et par

   a few

   minutter

   minutes

   More detail

   Bliv is the imperative of blive. Here it means “stay,” so it gives a direct instruction. Blive can also mean “become” in other contexts; the place word der and the fixed translation establish the “stay” meaning here. Example: Bliv her! — “Stay here!” Der means “there,” referring to a place understood from the situation. It is a location word and does not itself identify which place is meant. The Danish contrast her means “here.” Example: Bogen er der. — “The book is there.” Et par is a common Danish quantity expression meaning “a few” or “a couple of.” In this sentence it does not specify an exact number. Et is the form used with the neuter noun par; the expression functions together as a quantity phrase. Minutter is the plural of minut, “minute.” The singular is et minut, while the plural is minutter. Here, the plural follows the quantity expression et par, which refers to more than one minute. Together, Bliv der gives the instruction “Stay there,” and i et par minutter adds the duration “for a few minutes.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Stay there for a few minutes.”

7. En kort pause burde hjælpe.

   A short rest should help.

   En

   a/an

   kort

   short

   pause

   break; rest

   burde

   should

   hjælpe

   help

   More detail

   En is the Danish indefinite article used here with the singular common-gender noun pause: en pause means “a pause/rest.” It does not by itself state a numeric count; it introduces one unspecified instance. Danish also has et for singular neuter nouns, so the article is chosen by the noun’s grammatical gender. kort means “short” here and describes the pause. Its base form is kort; it does not take a separate gender ending in this phrase, because the common-gender singular form is also kort. Compare the useful pattern en kort pause (“a short pause”) with en lang pause (“a long pause”). pause is a noun meaning “pause” or “rest” here. The combination en pause can refer to a brief period of stopping or resting. For example, Jeg tager en pause. means “I am taking a break.” burde expresses that something is expected or advisable to happen: “should” or “ought to.” It is the form used here before the infinitive hjælpe, forming burde hjælpe (“should help”). Although burde is historically the past-tense form related to bør, in this construction it commonly expresses present or future expectation or advice rather than past time. A related contrast is skal hjælpe, which more directly expresses “will/is supposed to help,” while burde hjælpe is less forceful. hjælpe is the infinitive “to help.” After a modal verb such as burde, Danish uses the infinitive without an English-style “to” in the Danish clause: burde hjælpe. For example, Det burde virke. means “It should work.” Together, En kort pause is the subject, “a short rest,” and burde hjælpe says that this rest is expected to be helpful. The complete utterance therefore means “A short rest should help.”

8. Bevæg dig langsomt, når du rejser dig.

   Move slowly when you stand up.

   Bevæg dig

   move

   langsomt

   slowly

   når

   when

   rejser dig

   stand up

   More detail

   Bevæg dig is the imperative of the reflexive verb bevæge sig, meaning “move” here. The form bevæg gives a direct instruction; dig is the reflexive object referring back to the person being instructed. Compare the ordinary present form bevæger sig: “moves/is moving.” langsomt means “slowly” in this sentence. It is the adverb related to langsom (“slow”) and describes how the movement should happen. For example: Gå langsomt. — “Walk slowly.” når introduces a time clause meaning “when.” It links an action to the time at which another action occurs. For example: Ring, når du kommer hjem. — “Call when you get home.” rejser dig is the present-tense form of the reflexive verb rejse sig, used here for “stand up.” rejser is the verb form, and dig is the reflexive form referring back to the person who stands. The non-reflexive rejse can mean “travel,” so rejse sig is the relevant construction for rising to one’s feet. For example: Hun rejser sig. — “She stands up.” Together, Bevæg dig langsomt gives the instruction “Move slowly.” The time clause når du rejser dig specifies when to follow it: “when you stand up.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Move slowly when you stand up.”