Reporting a lost travel card | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg tror, jeg har mistet mit rejsekort i toget.

   I think I lost my travel card on the train.

   Jeg

   I

   tror

   think

   jeg har

   I have

   mistet

   lost

   mit

   my

   rejsekort

   travel card

   i

   on/in

   toget

   the train

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: the speaker is the person who thinks and has lost the card. Danish subject pronouns include jeg (“I”), du (“you”), and han/hun (“he/she”). Example: Jeg er træt. — “I am tired.” tror is the present form of tro, “to think/believe.” In this sentence it introduces the speaker’s uncertain conclusion. The pattern Jeg tror, ... means “I think ...”; the comma separates the introductory clause from the content that follows. Example: Jeg tror, han kommer. — “I think he is coming.” jeg har combines the subject jeg (“I”) with har, the present form of have. Here har is an auxiliary, not possession: it helps form the perfect construction har mistet, meaning “have lost.” mistet is the past participle of miste, “to lose.” The chain is miste → mistede (simple past) → har mistet (perfect). In har mistet, the loss is presented as completed and relevant to the current situation. Example: Jeg har mistet min nøgle. — “I have lost my key.” mit means “my” before a neuter singular noun. Its form agrees with the noun it modifies, not with the speaker: mit rejsekort. Danish also uses min with common-gender singular nouns and mine with plural nouns, for example min bog (“my book”) and mine kort (“my cards”). rejsekort means “travel card.” It is a compound noun: rejse means “travel” and kort means “card,” but the compound is the established word for a travel card. With the possessive, mit rejsekort means “my travel card.” i is a preposition meaning “in” or “on,” depending on the relation being expressed. Here, together with toget, it places the travel card in the train context and is naturally translated “on the train.” Example: Hun er i toget. — “She is on the train.” toget means “the train.” The base noun is tog (“train”); toget is its definite singular form, formed with the ending -et. The definite form refers to a particular train identifiable in the situation, rather than asserting that there is one train merely because an indefinite article is used. Together, Jeg tror (“I think”) and the following clause express the speaker’s uncertainty. jeg har mistet mit rejsekort means “I have lost my travel card,” and i toget locates the relevant loss on the train. The complete utterance is therefore: “I think I lost my travel card on the train.”

2. Du bør gå til hittegodskontoret.

   You should go to the lost property office.

   Du bør

   you should

   gå

   go

   hittegodskontoret

   the lost property office

   More detail

   Du bør means “you should”: du is the second-person singular pronoun “you”, and bør is the present form of the modal verb burde, used here for advice or recommendation. Danish places the following verb in the infinitive without at after bør: Du bør vente. — “You should wait.” gå means “go”. It is the infinitive form used after bør; its present form is går, as in Jeg går hjem. — “I am going home.” The infinitive stays unchanged here because bør carries the modal construction. hittegodskontoret means “the lost property office”. It is a compound noun: hittegods means “lost property”, and kontor means “office”. The ending -et marks the definite singular form of the final noun kontor, so hittegodskontoret refers to the office as a specific place. The preposition til means “to” and expresses the destination. Together, Du bør + gå gives the reusable pattern Du bør + infinitive (“You should + verb”). gå til hittegodskontoret means “go to the lost property office”, so the complete utterance is: “You should go to the lost property office.”

3. Kan de spærre kortet?

   Can they stop the card from being used?

   Kan de

   Can they

   spærre

   block

   kortet

   the card

   More detail

   Kan de asks whether the people referred to as de have the ability or possibility to do something. Kan is the present form of kunne (“can, be able to”); in a question, putting it before the subject creates the yes/no-question pattern Kan + subject + ...?. After this modal, the next verb stays in the infinitive. spærre means “to block” here: to prevent the card from being used. It is the infinitive after kan. The same verb can be used with other objects, for example: De kan spærre kontoen. — “They can block the account.” kortet means “the card.” It is the definite singular form of et kort (“a card”): et kort → kortet. The ending -et marks the definite singular form of this noun; it is not a separate word. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the card as the object that is to be blocked. Together, Kan de + spærre + kortet forms the yes/no question “Can they block the card?” In the supplied translation, blocking means stopping the card from being used.

4. De kan hjælpe dig med at udfylde en formular for at spærre det.

   They can help you fill out a form to block it.

   De kan

   They can

   hjælpe

   help

   dig

   you

   udfylde

   fill out

   en formular

   a form

   for at

   in order to

   spærre

   block

   det

   it

   More detail

   De kan means “they can” here. De is the third-person plural pronoun “they” in this sentence; its capitalization is required because it begins the sentence. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can / be able to.” A modal such as kan is followed by an infinitive without at: De kan hjælpe = “They can help.” hjælpe is the infinitive “to help.” Example: Jeg kan hjælpe dig. — “I can help you.” dig is the object form of du, “you.” Compare Du kan hjælpe. — “You can help.” Here du is the subject, while dig is the person receiving the help. udfylde is the infinitive “fill out” or “fill in,” especially a form or document. Example: Hun udfylder formularen. — “She is filling out the form.” The form udfylder is present tense; udfylde is the infinitive after hjælpe. en formular means “a form.” formular is a common-gender noun, so its indefinite singular article is en; en formular does not by itself state a numerical count. Its definite form is formularen, “the form.” Example: Jeg udfylder en formular. — “I am filling out a form.” for at introduces a purpose and is followed here by an infinitive: for at spærre means “in order to block.” Example: Hun ringer for at få hjælp. — “She calls in order to get help.” spærre is the infinitive “block,” “bar,” or “disable,” depending on the object. In this context it means stopping the relevant item from being used. Example: Banken kan spærre kortet. — “The bank can block the card.” det is a neuter singular pronoun meaning “it” here. With the supplied context, it refers to the card mentioned in the preceding question; kort is a neuter noun, so its definite form is kortet, and det can refer back to it. The pronoun is the object of spærre. Together, De kan hjælpe dig says “They can help you”; med at udfylde en formular identifies the help as filling out a form; and for at spærre det gives the purpose of the form: blocking the card. The complete meaning is “They can help you fill out a form to block it.”

5. Jeg har mine kontooplysninger med mig.

   I have my account details with me.

   Jeg

   I

   har

   have

   mine

   my

   kontooplysninger

   account details

   med mig

   with me

   More detail

   Jeg is the Danish first-person singular pronoun “I.” It identifies the speaker as the subject. The corresponding object form is mig, as in med mig later in the sentence. har is the present-tense form of have, “to have.” In this sentence, Jeg har means “I have.” Danish uses the present form for a current state or possession. Example: Jeg har en nøgle. — “I have a key.” mine means “my” before a plural noun. Its form is determined by the plural status of the noun it possesses, not by the noun’s grammatical gender: min is used with a singular common-gender noun, mit with a singular neuter noun, and mine with a plural noun. Here it modifies kontooplysninger, which is plural. Example: mine nøgler — “my keys.” kontooplysninger is a compound noun meaning “account details” or “account information.” It is built from konto (“account”) and oplysninger (“information/details”); the full compound, rather than either part alone, names the relevant details. Oplysninger is the plural form of oplysning. Example: Jeg mangler kontooplysninger. — “I am missing account details.” med mig means “with me.” Med is the preposition “with,” and mig is the object form of the first-person pronoun. Together with har, this expresses having or carrying something with oneself: Jeg har passet med mig. — “I have the passport with me.” The sentence follows the pattern Jeg har + [possessive plural noun] + med mig: the speaker has mine kontooplysninger, and specifies that they are with the speaker. Thus Jeg har mine kontooplysninger med mig. means “I have my account details with me.”

6. De oplysninger vil hjælpe personalet.

   That information will help the staff.

   De

   that

   oplysninger

   information

   vil

   will

   hjælpe

   help

   personalet

   the staff

   More detail

   De is the demonstrative form used here with the plural noun oplysninger. It can correspond to “those” or, in a natural translation, “that” when the plural details are treated collectively. Its form is not selected merely because the noun is singular; oplysninger is plural. A useful contrast is den with a common-gender singular noun and det with a neuter singular noun. oplysninger means pieces of information or details here. Its base form is oplysning “piece of information/detail”; oplysninger is the plural form. The earlier sentence uses the same plural form in mine kontooplysninger (“my account details”), showing that it is a reusable word for information or details rather than a special form limited to this sentence. vil expresses the future meaning “will” here and is followed by the infinitive hjælpe. In Danish, vil does not change for the subject’s person or number. It can also express willingness or intention in other contexts, but the fixed translation supports the future reading here. hjælpe is the infinitive “to help.” After vil, Danish uses the infinitive form: vil hjælpe = “will help.” The verb can take a person or group as its object, as in Det hjælper mig (“It helps me”). personalet means “the staff.” It is the definite singular form of personale, “staff/personnel”: personale → personalet. The ending marks definiteness, while the word itself refers collectively to staff; it is not a plural form. The plural of person is a different word, personer, so personalet should not be analyzed as “the persons.” Together, De oplysninger identifies the relevant information/details, vil hjælpe says that they will help, and personalet identifies who will benefit. The complete utterance therefore means: “That information will help the staff.”

7. Så spørger jeg, om jeg skal få et nyt kort.

   Then I'll ask whether I should get a new card.

   Så

   Then

   spørger

   ask

   om jeg skal

   whether I should

   få

   get

   nyt

   new

   kort

   card

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links this action to what has just been established. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but this sentence uses it as a time or sequence marker. spørger is the present-tense form of spørge, “to ask.” The subject jeg follows it, so jeg spørger means “I ask.” Danish present tense can also describe a planned or imminent action when the context makes that clear; here the fixed translation gives the future reading “I’ll ask.” Example: Jeg spørger personalet. — “I ask the staff.” om jeg skal introduces an indirect yes-or-no question: “whether I should.” om has this question-linking function, while skal is the present form of the modal verb skulle. In this construction, skal expresses what the speaker should or is expected to do. The subject is jeg, “I.” Example: Jeg spørger, om jeg skal vente. — “I’ll ask whether I should wait.” få is the infinitive of få, meaning “to get” or “to receive” here. After the modal skal, the following verb appears in the infinitive: skal få, “should get.” The same verb has other uses, such as expressing permission or causing something, so its exact meaning comes from the construction and context. nyt is the neuter singular form of the adjective ny, “new.” It has this form because it describes et kort, and kort is a neuter noun in this meaning. The useful forms are ny with a common-gender singular noun, nyt with a neuter singular noun, and nye in plural or definite adjective phrases. Example: et nyt pas — “a new passport.” kort means “card” here, as confirmed by the fixed translation. It is a neuter noun, shown by the article et and by the adjective form nyt. Danish kort can also mean “short” in other contexts, but that is not its meaning in this noun phrase. Together, jeg spørger gives “I’ll ask” in this context. The following om clause states what the question concerns: om jeg skal få et nyt kort, “whether I should get a new card.” Thus the complete utterance means: “Then I’ll ask whether I should get a new card.”

8. Spørg først, fordi nogen måske har afleveret det.

   Ask first, because someone might have handed it in.

   Spørg

   ask

   først

   first

   fordi

   because

   nogen

   someone

   måske

   perhaps; might

   har

   has/have

   afleveret

   handed in

   det

   it

   More detail

   Spørg is the imperative of spørge, “to ask.” It tells the listener to ask, without naming the subject. Example: Spørg læreren. — “Ask the teacher.” først means “first” and marks the order of the action. Together, Spørg først means “Ask first.” fordi introduces the reason for the preceding request: “because.” It begins the subordinate clause fordi nogen måske har afleveret det. nogen means “someone” or “somebody.” It is an indefinite pronoun, so the person is not identified in this utterance. Example: Nogen ringer. — “Someone is calling.” måske means “perhaps” or “maybe.” Here it expresses possibility; the English translation conveys this with “might.” It is an adverb, not a change in the verb form. har is the present-tense form of have. With a past participle, it helps form the perfect construction: har afleveret means “has handed in” or “has submitted.” afleveret is the past participle of aflevere, “to hand in” or “to submit.” In this sentence it describes a completed possible action. Example: Hun har afleveret opgaven. — “She has handed in the assignment.” det is a pronoun meaning “it.” It is the neuter singular form; the utterance does not identify what it refers to. In har afleveret det, it is the object of afleveret. The sentence is assembled as Spørg først (“Ask first”) + fordi (“because”) + nogen måske har afleveret det (“someone might have handed it in”). Thus the whole utterance means: “Ask first, because someone might have handed it in.”