Cooking Soup Together | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Denne opskrift ser enkel nok ud til aftensmaden.

   This recipe looks simple enough for dinner.

   Denne

   this

   opskrift

   recipe

   ser … ud

   looks/seems

   enkel

   simple

   nok

   enough

   aftensmaden

   dinner

   More detail

   Denne means “this” here and is the singular common-gender form used before opskrift. Danish demonstratives agree with the noun’s grammatical gender and number; denne is used with a common-gender singular noun. For example, denne bog means “this book.” opskrift means “recipe.” Its plural is opskrifter, and its definite singular form is opskriften (“the recipe”). ser ... ud is a reusable Danish construction meaning “looks” or “seems.” The observed form ser is the present form of se (“to see”), while ud is a separate particle. Together, ser ud describes how something appears, rather than simply saying that someone sees it. For example, Maden ser god ud means “The food looks good.” enkel means “simple” here. It is an adjective describing the recipe. In this construction, it is followed by nok to express a sufficient degree: enkel nok means “simple enough.” The adjective’s basic form is enkel; a plural or definite noun can require a different adjective form in Danish, depending on the construction. nok means “enough” in enkel nok. Placed after the adjective, it marks the degree as sufficient for what follows. The pattern adjective + nok til ... can be reused, as in stor nok til børn (“big enough for children”). aftensmaden means “the dinner” or, naturally here, “dinner.” It is the definite form of aftensmad (“dinner/evening meal”): aftensmad → aftensmaden. The ending -en marks definite singular for this noun. In til aftensmaden, til connects the required degree to its purpose or suitability: the recipe looks simple enough for dinner. Together, Denne opskrift means “This recipe.” ser enkel ud says that it appears simple, and nok til aftensmaden adds that its simplicity is sufficient for dinner. The complete utterance therefore means: “This recipe looks simple enough for dinner.”

2. Jeg kan hakke grøntsagerne, mens du koger vand.

   I can chop the vegetables while you boil water.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   hakke

   chop

   grøntsagerne

   the vegetables

   mens

   while

   du

   you

   koger

   boil

   vand

   water

   More detail

   Jeg kan means “I can.” Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. Kan is the present-tense form of kunne and expresses ability or possibility here. Danish uses the infinitive after kan, so the next verb appears as hakke, not as a present-tense form. hakke means “to chop”. It is the infinitive, and it stays in that form after the modal verb kan. For example: Jeg kan hakke løget. — “I can chop the onion.” grøntsagerne means “the vegetables”. Its base noun is grøntsag (“vegetable”); grøntsager is the plural, and the ending in grøntsagerne marks the definite plural (“the vegetables”). Compare indefinite plural grøntsager (“vegetables”) with definite plural grøntsagerne. mens introduces a time clause meaning “while”. It links two activities that occur during the same period. A reusable pattern is A, mens B — “A while B.” du is the second-person singular pronoun “you”. It is the subject of the clause introduced by mens. koger means “boil” here, referring to what du does to the water. It is the present-tense form of koge (“to boil/cook”). For example: Vandet koger. — “The water is boiling.” The same verb can describe boiling or cooking, so the intended English choice depends on what is being cooked; with vand, “boil” is the compatible meaning here. vand means “water”. It is used without a separate indefinite article here, as an uncountable substance noun. This does not specify a quantity. Together, Jeg kan hakke grøntsagerne means “I can chop the vegetables”. mens du koger vand adds the simultaneous activity “while you boil water”. The complete utterance is therefore: “I can chop the vegetables while you boil water.”

3. Hvor længe skal suppen koge?

   How long should the soup cook?

   Hvor længe

   how long

   skal

   should

   suppen

   the soup

   koge

   cook

   More detail

   Hvor længe asks about duration: “how long.” It is a reusable question expression for the length of time an action or state should continue. For example, Hvor længe skal vi vente? means “How long should we wait?” skal is the present-tense form of skulle. Here it expresses what is expected or recommended, “should,” and it is followed by the infinitive koge. Danish modal verbs such as skal normally take an infinitive without at: Jeg skal gå means “I should/must go.” The exact force can range from advice to expectation; in this sentence the fixed translation supports “should.” suppen means “the soup.” The base noun is suppe; suppen is its singular definite form, marked by the ending -en. The definite form identifies a particular soup already understood in the situation. For comparison, en suppe means “a soup,” while suppen means “the soup.” koge is the infinitive of the verb “to boil” or “to cook,” and here it describes the soup undergoing cooking. In Danish, the same verb can describe a liquid boiling or food cooking in heat; the intended reading here is “cook,” as shown by the fixed translation. For example, Vandet skal koge means “The water should boil.” The sentence uses a Danish question pattern: Hvor længe + modal verb + subject + infinitive. The question expression comes first, skal occupies the finite-verb position, suppen is the subject, and koge remains in the infinitive at the end. Together, Hvor længe skal suppen koge? means “How long should the soup cook?”

4. Lad den koge, til grøntsagerne er bløde.

   Let it cook until the vegetables are soft.

   Lad den

   let it

   koge

   cook / boil

   til

   until

   grøntsagerne

   the vegetables

   bløde

   soft

   More detail

   Lad den combines the imperative lad (“let/allow”) with den, an object pronoun meaning “it” here. Lad is the imperative of lade; the following infinitive states what is to be allowed: Lad den koge = “Let it cook.” In another reusable sentence, Lad ham komme means “Let him come.” koge is the infinitive “to cook” or “to boil.” Here it describes the cooking process of “it,” while the preceding lad makes the whole expression an instruction. The same verb can refer to boiling when the context is a liquid or food being heated. til introduces the point at which the instruction stops: “until.” It connects the cooking action with the condition that follows. Pattern: verb ..., til ... = “... until ...”. grøntsagerne means “the vegetables.” It is the definite plural form of grøntsag (“vegetable”): grøntsag → grøntsager (plural) → grøntsagerne (definite plural, “the vegetables”). The ending -ne marks definite plural here; it does not itself indicate a particular number beyond plural. bløde means “soft.” It is the adjective form agreeing with the plural noun grøntsagerne. The base form is blød; with a plural noun, the adjective takes -e: blød → bløde. Example: Kartoflerne er bløde. — “The potatoes are soft.” Together, til grøntsagerne er bløde means “until the vegetables are soft.” The clause has the vegetables as the subject of er bløde, and er means “are” here; it is not included in the selected phrase but is necessary to complete the condition. The whole utterance is an instruction: Lad den koge, til grøntsagerne er bløde. = “Let it cook until the vegetables are soft.”

5. Skal vi smage på den, før vi kommer mere salt i?

   Should we taste it before we add more salt?

   Skal vi

   shall we

   smage på

   taste

   den

   it

   før

   before

   komme … i

   add into

   mere

   more

   salt

   salt

   More detail

   Skal vi is a reusable way to suggest a shared action: “shall we …?” or, as here, “should we …?” Skal is the present form of skulle, while vi means “we.” The following infinitive supplies the proposed action. Example: Skal vi vente? — “Shall we wait?” smage på means “taste” when referring to tasting something. Danish uses the preposition på in this construction, so learn the pattern smage på + object. Example: Jeg smager på suppen. — “I taste the soup.” den is the object pronoun meaning “it” here. It is the form used for a singular common-gender referent; its specific referent is the thing being tasted, as fixed by the translation. The pronoun’s grammatical form does not by itself identify what that thing is. før introduces a time clause and means “before.” The clause after it gives the action that must happen later than the tasting in this question. Example: Smag, før du serverer. — “Taste it before you serve.” komme is the base form of the verb seen here as kommer, its present form. In komme ... i, Danish uses the verb in an idiomatic “put/add … in” construction; it is not the ordinary motion meaning of “come.” The thing being put in can occur between the verb and i, as in komme salt i. mere means “more” and is the comparative quantity form related to meget (“much/a lot”); mest means “most.” In mere salt, it indicates an additional amount of the mass noun salt, not a specific count. salt is the noun “salt.” In this sentence it is the ingredient being added. Example: Kom lidt salt i. — “Add a little salt.” Together, Skal vi smage på den asks whether the speakers should taste it. før vi kommer mere salt i adds the time condition “before we add more salt,” producing the full meaning: “Should we taste it before we add more salt?”

6. Smag på den først.

   Taste it first.

   Smag på

   taste

   den

   it

   først

   first

   More detail

   Smag på is the imperative form of smage på, meaning “taste” when referring to food or drink. The imperative addresses the listener directly; Danish imperatives commonly use the verb form without an expressed subject. Here, på belongs to the reusable verb construction, so learn the pattern smag på + object. den is a third-person singular object pronoun for a common-gender noun. In this utterance it means “it,” referring to the thing being tasted; the supplied translation identifies the intended referent without naming it. Danish also uses det for a neuter singular referent, so the pronoun form follows the grammatical gender of the noun it replaces, not the action of tasting. først is an adverb meaning “first” here. It places the tasting before a later step. For example: Læs først. — “Read first.” Together, Smag på den means “Taste it,” and først adds the ordering instruction: “Taste it first.”

7. Så kan vi krydre den forsigtigt.

   Then we can season it carefully.

   Så

   then

   kan vi

   we can

   krydre

   season

   den

   it

   forsigtigt

   carefully

   More detail

   Så means “then” here, linking the utterance to the preceding step. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but the fixed translation supports the time/sequence meaning here. kan vi combines kan, the present-tense form of kunne (“can, be able to”), with vi (“we”). kan expresses present ability or possibility; after this modal, Danish uses the bare infinitive, without at. vi is the first-person plural subject form. Compare jeg kan (“I can”) and vi kan (“we can”): kan does not change for these subjects. krydre means “season” in this utterance. It is the infinitive of the verb krydre; after kan, it appears without at: Vi kan krydre ... (“We can season ...”). The verb describes the action that is possible, while kan supplies the ability or possibility. den is an object pronoun meaning “it” here. Its form is used for a singular common-gender noun when that noun is referred to as a definite object; the fixed translation identifies the intended referent as the thing being seasoned, without naming it. Danish object pronouns differ from subject pronouns: den is used as the object, whereas den can also serve as a subject form in other contexts, so its role is determined by the sentence structure. forsigtigt means “carefully” here and modifies krydre, describing how the seasoning is done. The related adjective is forsigtig (“careful”); forsigtigt is also the form used with a neuter adjective agreement or as an adverb. In this sentence it functions as an adverb, not as a description of a noun. Together, Så kan vi krydre den forsigtigt. means “Then we can season it carefully.” The sequence is: Så (“then”) + kan vi (“we can”) + krydre den (“season it”) + forsigtigt (“carefully”).

8. Suppen smager bedre nu.

   The soup tastes better now.

   Suppen

   the soup

   smager

   tastes

   bedre

   better

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Suppen means “the soup” here. It is the definite singular form of suppe (“soup”): suppe → suppen. Danish commonly marks definiteness by a suffix on the noun rather than by a separate word before it. The form identifies a particular soup in this utterance, as also reflected in the translation. smager is the present-tense form of smage, “to taste” or “to have a taste.” In this sentence it describes the soup’s taste. The present form is used with singular and plural subjects alike: Suppen smager ... and Supperne smager .... Example: Kagen smager godt. — “The cake tastes good.” bedre means “better” and is the comparative form related to god (“good”): god → bedre → bedst (“best”). The comparison is understood from the context: the soup tastes better now than it did earlier, without the sentence having to state the comparison explicitly. bedre is the form of the adjective itself; it is not an inflection of suppen. nu means “now” and places the tasting at the present time. It can be used with many kinds of present-time statements, for example: Det regner nu. — “It is raining now.” Together, Suppen smager says “the soup tastes,” bedre adds the comparison “better,” and nu adds the time “now.” The complete utterance therefore means: “The soup tastes better now.”

9. Næste gang kan vi komme flere krydderurter i.

   Next time we can add more herbs.

   Næste gang

   next time

   kan vi

   we can

   komme … i

   put/add in

   flere

   more

   krydderurter

   herbs

   More detail

   Næste gang means “next time.” Here næste means “next”; it is not a comparison form of nær. gang means “time” in the sense of an occasion. Example: Vi ses næste gang. — “We’ll see each other next time.” kan vi combines kan, the present form of kunne (“can, be able to”), with vi (“we”). It says that we can do something. Because Næste gang is placed first, Danish puts the finite verb kan before the subject vi in the ordinary verb-second pattern; this does not make the sentence a question. Example: Vi kan vente. — “We can wait.” komme ... i is the placement construction meaning “put or add something in.” komme is also used independently with the meaning “come,” but that is not its meaning in this construction. After the modal kan, komme is in the infinitive: kan ... komme. Example: Kan vi komme mere vand i? — “Can we add more water?” flere means “more” for plural, countable things. It is the comparative form related to mange (“many”): mange → flere → flest. It fits the plural noun krydderurter. Example: Vi har flere æbler. — “We have more apples.” krydderurter means “herbs,” especially herbs used in cooking. It is the plural of krydderurt; the plural form ends in -er. The noun names what is being added. Example: Jeg køber krydderurter. — “I buy herbs.” Together, Næste gang sets the occasion, kan vi says that we can do the action, and komme flere krydderurter i means “add more herbs in.” Given the preceding sentence about the soup, the herbs are understood to be added into the soup; the destination is not repeated in this utterance. The complete utterance is: “Next time we can add more herbs.”