A Light Snack at Home | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg vil gerne have en snack.

   I want a snack.

   Jeg

   I

   vil gerne

   would like

   have

   have

   snack

   snack

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here and is the Danish subject pronoun for the speaker. The object form is mig, as in Hun ser mig (“She sees me”), but Jeg is used for the subject: Jeg læser means “I read.” vil gerne is a common Danish construction for expressing that the subject wants or would like something. vil is the present-tense form of ville; gerne adds the willing/desiring sense. A reusable pattern is Jeg vil gerne + an infinitive: Jeg vil gerne lære dansk means “I would like to learn Danish.” have is the infinitive of “to have.” After the modal verb vil, the following verb appears in the infinitive, so Danish uses vil ... have, not a finite form of have. In this sentence, have means having or getting the requested food. Example: Hun vil gerne have kaffe means “She would like coffee.” snack is a noun meaning “snack.” In the utterance, it is preceded by the indefinite article en, forming en snack; this presents a non-specific snack. The noun itself remains snack in this singular phrase. Example: Jeg køber en snack means “I am buying a snack.” Together, Jeg vil gerne have en snack combines the subject “I,” the desire construction “would like,” the infinitive “to have,” and the indefinite noun phrase “a snack.” The complete meaning is “I want a snack,” as given by the fixed translation.

2. Jeg er ikke særlig sulten.

   I am not very hungry.

   Jeg er

   I am

   ikke særlig

   not very

   sulten

   hungry

   More detail

   Jeg er means “I am.” Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun, “I,” and er is the present-tense form of at være, “to be.” Danish uses er with this subject: Jeg er træt. — “I am tired.” ikke særlig means “not very” in this sentence. ikke marks negation, and særlig functions adverbially here to mean “particularly” or “very.” This is a reusable pattern: ikke særlig + adjective, as in Hun er ikke særlig glad. — “She is not very happy.” sulten means “hungry.” It is an adjective; in this sentence it is the common-gender singular form. Its useful forms include sulten (common-gender singular), sultent (neuter singular), and sultne (plural): De er sultne. — “They are hungry.” In the fixed sentence, sulten describes the speaker. Together, Jeg er + ikke særlig + sulten produces “I am not very hungry.” The sentence describes the speaker’s present degree of hunger: the speaker is not particularly hungry. It does not state that the speaker wants no food at all.

3. Så vælg noget let, for eksempel yoghurt.

   Then choose something light, like yogurt.

   Så

   then

   vælg

   choose

   noget

   something

   let

   light

   for eksempel

   for example

   yoghurt

   yogurt

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links this suggestion to what came before. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but “then” is the relevant meaning in this utterance. vælg is the imperative of vælge, “to choose.” The imperative gives a direct suggestion or instruction without stating the subject. Useful forms include vælger (“choose/is choosing” in the present) and valgte (“chose” in the past). Example: Vælg en bog. — “Choose a book.” noget means “something.” It is an indefinite pronoun used for an unspecified thing or amount. In Danish, noget is also the neuter form used with a neuter singular adjective: noget let means “something light.” This does not identify what the thing is. let means “light” here, describing the unspecified food choice. The adjective is the base form let; it has the same form with a neuter singular noun or pronoun such as noget, while the plural form is lette. Example: en let frokost — “a light lunch”; lette måltider — “light meals.” for eksempel is the reusable expression “for example.” It introduces an illustration rather than changing the preceding choice into a requirement. Example: Prøv frugt, for eksempel et æble. — “Try fruit, for example an apple.” yoghurt is the noun “yogurt.” Here it names one example of what noget let could refer to. The noun itself is unchanged in this sentence; Danish commonly uses en yoghurt for “a yogurt” and yoghurter for “yogurts,” though the exact article or plural is not needed in the fixed utterance. Together, Så vælg gives the suggestion “Then choose,” noget let gives the unspecified choice “something light,” and for eksempel yoghurt supplies yogurt as an example. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then choose something light, like yogurt.”

4. Har vi også nødder?

   Do we have nuts too?

   Har vi

   do we have

   også

   too; also

   nødder

   nuts

   More detail

   Har vi is a reusable Danish question pattern meaning “do we have…?” Here, har is the present-tense form of have (“to have”), and vi means “we.” Danish commonly places the verb before the subject in a direct yes/no question: Har vi ...? Compare the ordinary statement order Vi har ... (“We have ...”). Example: Har vi brød? — “Do we have bread?” også means “also” or “too.” It adds this item to something already under consideration. Its position here, before the noun phrase, makes the question ask whether nuts are included as well. Example: Har du også kaffe? — “Do you have coffee too?” nødder means “nuts” here. It is the plural of nød (“nut”): en nød — “a nut,” nødder — “nuts.” The plural form does not itself say whether the nuts are definite; the definite plural is nødderne (“the nuts”). Together, Har vi + også + nødder forms the complete question: “Do we have nuts too?”`

5. Der er nogle i skabet.

   There are some in the cupboard.

   Der er

   there is / there are

   nogle

   some

   i

   in

   skabet

   the cupboard

   More detail

   Der er is the Danish existential construction used to say that something exists or is present: “there is” or “there are.” In the present tense, er is the form of være (“to be”); the construction does not change between singular and plural. Compare Der er en bog (“There is a book”) and Der er bøger (“There are books”). nogle means “some” here. It is a plural, indefinite quantity word for an unspecified number or selection, without stating an exact count. Example: Jeg har nogle æbler — “I have some apples.” i means “in” and introduces the location of something inside a place or container. It is a short preposition whose form does not change for number. skabet means “the cupboard.” Its base form is skab (“cupboard”), and the ending -et marks the definite singular form for this noun: skab → skabet. The form of the noun, not i, carries this definiteness and number information. Example: Koppen er i skabet — “The cup is in the cupboard.” Together, Der er presents something as being present, nogle identifies it only as an unspecified plural amount, and i skabet gives its location. The complete utterance means: “There are some in the cupboard.” The utterance leaves the specific items understood from context rather than naming them.

6. Yoghurt med nødder lyder godt.

   Yogurt with nuts sounds good.

   Yoghurt

   yogurt

   nødder

   nuts

   lyder

   sounds

   godt

   good

   More detail

   Yoghurt is the noun “yogurt.” In this sentence it is used without an article as a substance or food item: yoghurt can mean “yogurt,” while en yoghurt means “a yogurt” and yoghurten means “the yogurt.” Here, Yoghurt med nødder is the subject of lyder. nødder means “nuts.” It is the plural indefinite form of nød (“nut”): en nød → nødder; nødderne means “the nuts.” The pattern med + noun means “with + noun,” so med nødder means “with nuts.” lyder means “sounds” here. It is the present-tense form of lyde (“to sound”), used with the singular subject Yoghurt med nødder. A useful reusable pattern is Det lyder ... (“It sounds ...”), for example: Det lyder interessant. — “That sounds interesting.” godt means “good” in the expression lyder godt. Together, lyde godt means “to sound good.” In this expression, godt is the fixed form used after lyde to describe how something sounds; it is not the noun god and does not mean that the yogurt is literally making a good noise. In other adjective uses, Danish contrasts forms such as god in en god idé (“a good idea”) and godt in et godt forslag (“a good suggestion”). Together, Yoghurt med nødder is the subject “yogurt with nuts,” and lyder godt says that this option sounds good. The whole utterance therefore means “Yogurt with nuts sounds good.”

7. Tag en lille skål.

   Take a small bowl.

   Tag

   take

   lille

   small

   skål

   bowl

   More detail

   Tag is the imperative of tage, “to take.” It gives a direct instruction to one or more listeners; the form itself does not show the number of people addressed. For example: Tag en ske. — “Take a spoon.” lille means “small” here and describes skål. In this singular indefinite phrase, Danish uses lille; the plural form is små, as in små skåle — “small bowls.” skål is the noun “bowl.” Its common-gender indefinite form is en skål, “a bowl”; the definite form is skålen, “the bowl,” and the plural is skåle, “bowls.” Together, Tag + en lille skål forms the instruction “Take a small bowl.” The article en marks an indefinite common-gender noun phrase; it introduces the object without independently stating a numerical count.

8. Det er ikke for meget.

   It is not too much.

   Det

   it

   er

   is

   ikke

   not

   for meget

   too much

   More detail

   Det is a neuter singular third-person pronoun. Here it is the subject translated as “it”; the sentence does not by itself identify exactly what “it” refers to. Danish also uses det in some impersonal constructions, but that broader use is not needed to interpret this sentence. er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” The useful pattern is jeg er (“I am”), du er (“you are”), and det er (“it is”); er itself does not show the subject’s gender or number. Example: Det er koldt. — “It is cold.” ikke negates the clause. In this sentence it changes the evaluation from “it is too much” to “it is not too much.” Example: Det er ikke svært. — “It is not difficult.” for meget expresses an excessive amount: for means “too” here, and meget means “much.” The phrase is used with an uncounted amount or quantity. For meget is not the same as meget: Det er meget. means “It is a lot,” while Det er for meget. means “It is too much.” Example: Der er for meget vand. — “There is too much water.” Together, Det er gives “it is,” ikke reverses the assertion, and for meget supplies the excessive-amount evaluation. The whole utterance therefore means: “It is not too much.”

9. Jeg laver en nu.

   I will make one now.

   Jeg

   I

   laver

   make

   en

   one

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Jeg is the Danish first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It is used for the speaker, regardless of the speaker’s gender. Example: Jeg kommer. — “I am coming.” laver is the present-tense form of lave, “to make” or “to do.” In this sentence it means “make.” Danish present tense can also describe an action that is about to happen, especially with a time word such as nu (“now”), so the fixed translation naturally uses “will make.” Example: Jeg laver mad. — “I am making food.” en means “one” here: it stands in for a singular common-gender thing that is understood from the situation. It is not functioning here as a numeric count; the translation identifies the intended meaning as “one.” Danish en can also be the indefinite article before a common-gender noun, but that is a different use. Example: Jeg tager en. — “I’ll take one.” nu means “now” and places the action at the present moment or in the immediate future. Example: Kom nu. — “Come now.” Together, Jeg laver en nu means “I will make one now.” The subject is Jeg (“I”), laver says that the speaker will make it, en replaces the understood singular item, and nu specifies when the making will happen.

10. Gem nogle nødder til mig, tak.

    Leave some nuts for me, please.

    Gem

    leave; save

    nogle

    some

    nødder

    nuts

    til mig

    for me

    tak

    please

    More detail

    Gem is the imperative form of gemme, meaning “save” or “keep.” Here it is a direct request: “Leave/save …” The imperative addresses the listener and does not state who the listener is. For example, Gem billetten. means “Keep the ticket.” nogle means “some” and is used here with the plural noun nødder. It indicates an unspecified amount rather than a precise number. A reusable pattern is nogle + plural noun, as in nogle æbler — “some apples.” nødder means “nuts” here. It is the plural of nød (“nut”): en nød / nødder. The plural form identifies more than one nut, while nogle leaves the amount unspecified. til mig means “for me” in this request. til is the preposition, and mig is the object form of the first-person pronoun corresponding to “me.” The phrase identifies the intended recipient of what is being saved. For example, Det er til mig. means “It is for me.” tak literally means “thanks” and commonly makes a request polite, comparable to “please” in this position. It does not change the requested action or amount. Together, Gem nogle nødder expresses the imperative “Save/leave some nuts,” and til mig specifies that they are for the speaker. The final tak adds politeness, giving the intended meaning: “Leave some nuts for me, please.”