Reporting a Problem with the Air Conditioner | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Klimaanlægget på mit værelse virker ikke.

   The air conditioner in my room is not working.

   Klimaanlægget

   the air conditioner

   på

   in

   mit

   my

   værelse

   room

   virker

   works

   ikke

   not

   More detail

   Klimaanlægget means “the air conditioner” here. It is the definite singular form of klimaanlæg (“air conditioner”): the ending -et marks a common Danish neuter singular noun as definite. For example, et klimaanlæg means “an air conditioner,” while klimaanlægget means “the air conditioner.” på means “in” in this location phrase. Danish uses på with some locations where English uses “in”; here it introduces the place connected with the air conditioner. mit means “my” and agrees with the following neuter noun værelse. Danish possessive forms include min with common-gender singular nouns, mit with neuter singular nouns, and mine with plural nouns. For example, mit hus means “my house,” because hus is neuter. værelse means “room.” It is a neuter noun, as shown by et værelse (“a room”) and the possessive form mit værelse (“my room”). virker is the present-tense form of virke, meaning “to work” or “to function.” In this sentence it describes the air conditioner’s functioning, not a person’s employment. For example, Telefonen virker means “The phone works.” Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change for the subject’s person or number, so virker can be used with both singular and plural subjects. ikke means “not.” It negates the clause; together with virker, virker ikke means “is not working” or literally “does not work.” Together, Klimaanlægget på mit værelse identifies the air conditioner located in the speaker’s room. virker ikke says that it is not functioning, giving the complete meaning: “The air conditioner in my room is not working.”

2. Det er jeg ked af.

   I am sorry about that.

   Det

   that

   er

   am/is/are

   jeg

   I

   ked af

   sorry about

   More detail

   Det means “that” here and refers to the situation mentioned in the preceding sentence: the air conditioner not working. Danish det can have other pronoun or grammatical uses, but this sentence uses it for the situation being discussed. er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” It is used with all persons in the present: jeg er means “I am,” and du er means “you are.” Its past form is var. jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun, “I.” In this sentence, it identifies the person who is sorry. ked af is the Danish construction for being sorry or sad about something. Here, ked is the adjective and af is the preposition that completes the construction. The meaning comes from the construction være ked af, rather than from treating ked as a general standalone equivalent of “sorry.” The sentence has Det before the finite verb er. Danish normally places the finite verb before the subject after a fronted element, giving the order Det er jeg ...; this is a verb-second word-order pattern. A reusable pattern is [fronted situation] er jeg ked af — “I am sorry about [that situation].” Together, Det er jeg ked af. means “I am sorry about that.” In the supplied context, Det refers to the preceding fact that the air conditioner in the speaker’s room is not working.

3. Har du prøvet fjernbetjeningen?

   Have you tried the remote?

   Har du

   have you

   prøvet

   tried

   fjernbetjeningen

   the remote control

   More detail

   Har du is the question form of have you: har is the present form of have, and du is the singular informal subject pronoun “you.” In this question, the auxiliary comes before the subject. Danish uses this auxiliary together with a past participle to form the present perfect, a form commonly used for an experience or action relevant to now. prøvet is the past participle of prøve, “to try.” The useful form chain is prøve → prøvede (past) → har prøvet (present perfect). Here, har prøvet asks whether the addressee has tried something; the question does not itself specify the result. Example: Jeg har prøvet det. — “I have tried it.” fjernbetjeningen means “the remote control.” It is the definite singular form of fjernbetjening: en fjernbetjening means “a remote control,” while fjernbetjeningen means “the remote control.” The ending -en marks common-gender definite singular in this noun; it is not a separate word. The compound refers to a device used for remote control, and the fixed translation identifies it here simply as “the remote.” Together, the auxiliary–subject question pattern, the past participle, and the definite object ask whether the listener has tried the specified remote control. The whole utterance therefore means “Have you tried the remote?”

4. Jeg har prøvet den.

   I tried it.

   Jeg

   I

   har prøvet

   have tried

   den

   it

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: the first-person singular subject pronoun. Danish uses jeg for a subject and mig for an object. Example: Jeg prøver den. — “I am trying it.” har prøvet is the perfect construction: present-tense har (“have”) plus the past participle prøvet of prøve (“try”). The useful form chain is prøve → prøver (present) → prøvede (simple past) → har prøvet (perfect). In this utterance, the fixed translation gives the meaning “tried.” Example: Jeg har prøvet kaffen. — “I have tried the coffee.” den is the singular common-gender object pronoun “it.” In the supplied context, it refers to fjernbetjeningen (“the remote”), which is a common-gender singular noun. Danish uses det for a singular neuter referent in the corresponding use. Example: Jeg har prøvet den. — “I have tried it.” Together, Jeg supplies the subject, har prøvet expresses the completed trying, and den identifies what was tried. The complete meaning is “I tried it,” with den referring to the remote mentioned in the preceding question.

5. Temperaturen ændrer sig ikke.

   The temperature does not change.

   Temperaturen

   the temperature

   ændrer sig

   changes

   ikke

   not

   More detail

   Temperaturen means “the temperature” here. It is the definite form of temperatur (“temperature”): temperatur is indefinite, while temperaturen refers to a specific temperature understood in the situation. Danish marks definiteness on the noun with the ending -en for this common-gender noun. ændrer sig means “changes” in the sense of “changes itself” or simply “changes.” The lexical verb is ændre (“change”); ændrer is its present-tense form. sig is a reflexive pronoun used with this verb when the changing subject is also the entity undergoing the change. Example: Planen ændrer sig. — “The plan changes.” ikke is the ordinary Danish negation word “not.” In this sentence it negates the present-tense verb phrase ændrer sig, so the sentence says that the temperature does not change. Together, Temperaturen supplies the subject, ændrer sig expresses the change, and ikke reverses that assertion: “The temperature does not change.”

6. Jeg sender nogen for at tjekke det.

   I will send someone to check it.

   Jeg

   I

   sender

   send

   nogen

   someone

   for at tjekke

   to check

   det

   it

   More detail

   Jeg is the subject pronoun “I.” Danish subject pronouns include jeg (“I”), du (“you,” singular), and vi (“we”). Example: Jeg kommer. — “I am coming.” sender means “send” here. It is the present-tense form of sende (“to send”): jeg sender — “I send” or, as in this sentence, “I will send.” Danish often uses the present tense for a planned or expected future event when the context makes the future meaning clear. The form sender agrees with the subject in meaning but does not change for the person in the way some languages’ verb forms do; for example, vi sender means “we send/will send.” nogen means “someone” in this sentence. It is an indefinite pronoun referring to an unspecified person. Example: Jeg ringer til nogen. — “I call someone.” Do not confuse this with a specific person’s name: the sentence does not identify who will be sent. for at tjekke is the reusable pattern “to check.” tjekke is the infinitive, and for at introduces a purpose: Jeg går ud for at købe mad. — “I go out to buy food.” Here, the person being sent is the understood doer of tjekke, so the purpose is for that person to check something. det means “it” here. It is a third-person singular pronoun with the neuter form det; its specific referent is not identified in the supplied sentence or translation. Danish also uses den for a common-gender singular referent, while det can refer to a neuter noun or to an already understood matter or situation. The pronoun is the object of tjekke. Together, Jeg sender nogen gives “I will send someone,” and for at tjekke det adds the purpose “to check it.” The complete meaning is: “I will send someone to check it.”

7. Hvor lang tid kan reparationen tage?

   How long might the repair take?

   Hvor lang tid

   how long

   kan

   can; might

   reparationen

   the repair

   tage

   take

   More detail

   Hvor lang tid is the Danish question expression for asking about duration: “how long” in the sense of how much time. tid means “time,” and lang means “long”; together they form the reusable pattern Hvor lang tid ...?. kan is the modal verb kunne (“can” or “be able to”) in the present tense. In this question, it gives the possibility expressed by “might”: the speaker asks what duration is possible, rather than asserting a definite duration. Danish commonly places a modal such as kan before the following infinitive. reparationen means “the repair” here. Its base noun is reparation; the ending -en marks the common-gender singular definite form. The definite form presents the repair as an identifiable repair in the situation. An indefinite form is en reparation (“a repair”), but en is an article, not a claim that there is numerically only one repair in all circumstances. tage is the infinitive of tage, “to take.” In the expression about duration, it means that an activity or process requires a certain amount of time. After the modal kan, the infinitive remains tage rather than taking a present-tense ending. For example: Det kan tage en time. — “It may take an hour.” The sentence follows the question pattern Hvor lang tid + modal verb + subject + infinitive: Hvor lang tid kan reparationen tage? Literally, it asks how much time the repair may take, yielding “How long might the repair take?”

8. Det er jeg ikke sikker på.

   I am not sure.

   Det

   that

   er

   am; is

   jeg

   I

   sikker

   sure; certain

   på

   about

   More detail

   Det means “that” here. In the supplied context, it points to the matter raised in the preceding question: how long the repair might take. Danish det can also refer to a thing or situation in other sentences; its grammatical form does not by itself identify the referent. er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” Danish uses this same form with different subjects. Here it is the finite verb in the initial verb-second clause: Det comes first, so jeg follows er. jeg means “I,” the subject form for the speaker. Its object form is mig, as in Hun ser mig. — “She sees me.” sikker means “sure” or “certain” here. It is the base/common-singular form of the adjective; useful forms include sikkert for neuter singular and sikre for plural or definite contexts. In this sentence, sikker is a predicative adjective describing the state of jeg; it does not mark the speaker’s person. på means “about” in the construction være sikker på ..., “be sure about ...”. The preceding ikke negates this construction: ikke være sikker på ... means “not be sure about ...”. The sentence uses the reusable pattern Det er [subject] ikke sikker på. The fronted Det represents the matter being considered, while er ... sikker expresses the speaker’s state and ikke removes certainty. På remains at the end because the matter it relates to has been fronted as Det. A more direct example is Jeg er ikke sikker på det. — “I am not sure about that.” Together, the fixed utterance means “I am not sure,” with the surrounding context making the uncertain matter the repair’s possible duration.

9. Der kan komme nogen om lidt.

   Someone can come shortly.

   Der kan

   there can be

   komme

   come

   nogen

   someone

   om lidt

   shortly

   More detail

   Der kan introduces the possibility that something happens. Here der is an existential/anticipatory subject, not a location meaning “there” in the sentence. kan is the present-tense form of kunne and expresses possibility here. Danish places the infinitive after kan without an English-style “to”: kan komme = “can/may come.” komme means “come.” It is the infinitive form used after the modal kan. The same form can be reused after other modal verbs, for example skal komme = “will/shall come” or “must come,” depending on context. nogen means “someone” here: an unspecified person who may come. It is an indefinite pronoun, so the person’s identity is not specified; the form does not identify the person’s gender. om lidt is a time expression meaning “shortly” or “in a little while.” It places the possible event a short time in the future. For example, Jeg kommer om lidt. means “I’ll come shortly.” Together, Der kan komme nogen om lidt means “Someone can come shortly”: the sentence presents it as possible that an unspecified person will come soon. The reusable pattern is Der kan komme [person] om lidt = “Someone/[a person] may come shortly.”

10. Jeg venter på værelset.

    I will wait in the room.

    Jeg

    I

    venter

    wait

    på

    in

    værelset

    the room

    More detail

    Jeg means “I” here: it is the first-person singular subject pronoun. Danish subject pronouns do not change for grammatical gender. Example: Jeg kommer. — “I am coming.” venter is the present-tense form of vente, “to wait.” Danish present tense can describe an action happening now or a planned action; here, the fixed translation gives the intended future reading, “will wait.” Example: Jeg venter her. — “I will wait here” or “I am waiting here,” depending on context. The verb form itself does not add a separate person ending here. på is the preposition used here in the location expression på værelset, which corresponds to “in the room.” Its meaning depends on the phrase it forms, so it should not be learned as a universal equivalent of “in.” værelset means “the room.” Its indefinite base form is værelse, and værelset is its singular definite form: værelse → værelset. Værelse is a neuter noun, and the ending -et marks its singular definite form, expressing the meaning “the” within the noun form. Example: Et værelse — “a room”; værelset — “the room.” Together, Jeg venter means “I wait” or “I am waiting,” while på værelset specifies the location. The complete utterance is therefore “I will wait in the room,” with the future interpretation supported by the fixed translation.

11. Sig venligst til, hvis problemet fortsætter.

    Please let us know if the problem continues.

    Sig venligst til

    please let us know

    hvis

    if

    problemet

    the problem

    fortsætter

    continues

    More detail

    Sig venligst til is a polite request meaning “please let us know.” Sig is the imperative of sige (“to say/tell”): sige → sig. In this construction, til is part of the expression sige til, used when asking someone to inform or notify someone. Venligst softens the request and corresponds here to “please.” Hvis introduces a condition and means “if.” It connects the request to the situation that must occur for the request to apply. A reusable pattern is hvis + clause, as in the fixed sentence. Problemet means “the problem.” Its base form is problem; problemet is the definite singular form, formed with the ending -et. The definite form identifies a particular problem understood in the situation; it does not by itself state how many problems there are. Fortsætter means “continues” here. It is the present-tense form of fortsætte (“to continue”), used with the subject problemet. Danish present-tense verbs do not change form for singular versus plural subjects. For example, Arbejdet fortsætter means “The work continues.” Together, hvis problemet fortsætter means “if the problem continues.” The conditional clause follows the request, so the whole utterance asks the listener to let us know if the problem continues. The wording is polite and suitable for a practical request.