Reviewing meeting action items | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kan vi gennemgå opgaverne fra mødet?

   Can we review the action items from the meeting?

   Kan vi

   Can we

   gennemgå

   review; go through

   opgaverne

   the tasks; the action items

   mødet

   the meeting

   More detail

   Kan vi forms a reusable yes/no-question pattern: kan is the present form of kunne (“can/be able to”), and vi means “we.” In a Danish question, the finite modal can come before the subject: Kan vi ...? = “Can we ...?” The modal is followed by the infinitive without at, as in Kan vi vente? — “Can we wait?” gennemgå means “to review” or “to go through” something systematically. Here it is an infinitive after kan; the modal carries the present-time question, while gennemgå names the planned activity. Example: Vi gennemgår planen. — “We are reviewing the plan.” opgaverne means “the tasks” and, in this work context, “the action items.” Its base noun is opgave (“task”). The form chain is opgave (a task), opgaven (the task), opgaver (tasks), opgaverne (the tasks). The ending -ne marks definite plural here, so this refers to identifiable tasks rather than an unspecified set. The fixed translation and the following context support the work-related reading “action items.” mødet means “the meeting.” Its base noun is møde; mødet is its definite singular form, with the definite ending -t. The preposition fra between the two noun phrases means “from,” so opgaverne fra mødet is “the tasks/action items from the meeting.” Together, Kan vi gennemgå opgaverne fra mødet? asks whether the speakers can review the identifiable action items from the meeting: “Can we review the action items from the meeting?”

2. Jeg har opsummeringen åben, så lad os tjekke dem.

   I have the summary open, so let's check them.

   Jeg

   I

   har

   have

   opsummeringen

   the summary

   åben

   open

   lad os

   let’s

   tjekke

   check

   dem

   them

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here, the first-person singular subject. Danish uses jeg for a subject and mig for an object. Example: Jeg ser ham. — “I see him.” har is the present-tense form of have (“to have”). It is used with all subjects in the present: jeg har, du har, and de har. Here, har combines with the object and the following adjective to describe the summary’s current state. opsummeringen means “the summary.” The base noun is opsummering; -en marks its definite singular form as a common-gender noun. Compare en opsummering — “a summary” — with opsummeringen — “the summary.” åben means “open.” It is an adjective describing the state of opsummeringen, not an action of opening it. Here it is the common-gender singular form. The corresponding neuter singular form is åbent, and the plural form is åbne; åbne is also used in definite attributive phrases, such as den åbne dør — “the open door.” Example: Døren er åben. — “The door is open.” så means “so” and links the stated situation to the proposal that follows. lad os is the Danish construction for “let’s.” It contains the imperative lad from lade (“let” or “allow”) and the object pronoun os (“us”). Together, it introduces a first-person-plural proposal. Example: Lad os begynde. — “Let’s begin.” tjekke means “check.” It is the infinitive used after lad os: lad os tjekke — “let’s check.” This is a relatively informal alternative to kontrollere when “check” is intended. dem means “them” as a plural object pronoun. It does not show the grammatical gender of the things referred to. In the supplied context, the preceding reference to the meeting’s action items supports those plural items as the intended referent. The subject form is de (“they”), while the object form is dem (“them”). Example: Jeg ser dem. — “I see them.” The utterance first states Jeg har opsummeringen åben: “I have the summary open.” Danish uses have with an object and a following adjective to describe that object’s current state. Så then connects this situation to lad os tjekke dem: “so let’s check them.” Together, the sentence means: “I have the summary open, so let’s check them.”

3. Hvem skal kontakte kunden?

   Who should contact the client?

   Hvem

   who

   skal

   should / is to

   kontakte

   contact

   kunden

   the client

   More detail

   Hvem means “who” here and asks for the person who would perform the action. It is the subject question word in this sentence. Compare hvem (“who”) with hvad (“what”), which asks about a thing or an action. Example: Hvem kommer? — “Who is coming?” skal is the present-tense form of skulle, used here for “should” or “is supposed to.” Danish skal does not change for person or number: the same form can occur with one person, several people, or a thing. As a modal verb, it is followed by an infinitive without at: skal kontakte means “should contact.” Example: Vi skal starte nu. — “We should start now.” kontakte is the infinitive of the verb kontakte, “to contact.” After the modal skal, it stays in the infinitive rather than taking a personal ending. Example: Jeg skal kontakte hende. — “I should contact her.” kunden means “the client” in this sentence. Its base form is the noun kunde, “client/customer”; kunden is its singular definite form, made with the definite ending -n. The ending identifies one specific client in the intended context, rather than an indefinite client. Example: Jeg ringer til kunden. — “I am calling the client.” Together, Hvem skal kontakte kunden? asks which person is supposed to perform the action of contacting the specific client: “Who should contact the client?” The structure is hvem + modal verb + infinitive + definite noun phrase.

4. Projektlederen tager sig af det.

   The project lead will handle that.

   Projektlederen

   the project lead

   tager sig af

   handles; takes care of

   det

   that

   More detail

   Projektlederen means “the project lead.” It is the definite singular form of projektleder (“project lead”): the ending -en marks definite singular for this common-gender noun. Danish commonly forms compounds such as projektleder as one word. Example: Lederen kommer. — “The leader is coming.” tager sig af is the reusable expression “takes care of” or “handles.” The observed verb tager is the present form of tage (“take”); sig is the reflexive form used with the subject, and af completes this expression. Learn the pattern tage sig af + object: Jeg tager mig af sagen. — “I’ll handle the matter.” In this expression, sig refers back to the subject. The present form tager does not change for person or number in Danish; its form here is not an agreement ending. det is a standalone neuter singular pronoun meaning “that” here. Its grammatical form is distinct from the common-gender singular pronoun den; the form itself does not identify what “that” refers to. The supplied translation supports the intended object meaning without specifying its exact referent. Together, Projektlederen tager sig af det. has the structure “the project lead + handles/takes care of + that.” Danish present tense can describe a planned or expected future action when the context supports it, which is why the fixed translation uses “will handle.”

5. Hvad skal jeg gøre som det næste?

   What should I do next?

   Hvad

   what

   skal jeg

   should I

   gøre

   do

   som det næste

   next

   More detail

   Hvad means “what” here: it asks for the thing or action to be done. It is the Danish question word used when the answer is an unspecified thing or activity. Compare hvem (“who”) when asking about a person. skal jeg combines the modal verb skal with the pronoun jeg (“I”). In this question, skal expresses what the speaker ought to do or is expected to do, so skal jeg ...? is a reusable pattern meaning “should I ...?” or “what am I to ...?” Danish questions commonly place the verb before the subject: Skal jeg vente? — “Should I wait?” The form skal is used with jeg; it does not change for grammatical gender. gøre is the infinitive of “do.” After the modal skal, the following verb appears in the infinitive: skal jeg gøre — “should I do.” The infinitive is gøre, while gør is the present-tense form used without this modal, as in Jeg gør det — “I do it.” som det næste means “next” in the sense of the next step or action. det is a neuter singular form used in this fixed expression; it does not identify a particular person. The expression can be reused to ask about sequence: Hvad gør vi som det næste? — “What do we do next?” Together, Hvad asks which action, skal jeg gøre asks what the speaker should do, and som det næste places that action next in the sequence. The complete utterance therefore means “What should I do next?” It is a natural way to ask for the next task or instruction.

6. Opdater noterne og del filen.

   Update the notes and share the file.

   Opdater

   update

   noterne

   the notes

   del

   share

   filen

   the file

   More detail

   Opdater is the imperative of opdatere, meaning “update” here. The imperative gives a direct instruction; Danish commonly forms it by removing the infinitive ending -e: opdatere → opdater. Example: Opdater listen. — “Update the list.” noterne means “the notes.” The noun is note; its plural is noter, and the definite plural form adds -ne: noter → noterne. The ending expresses definiteness rather than a separate word for “the.” del is the imperative of dele, meaning “share” here. As with opdatere, the imperative is formed from the verb stem after removing the infinitive ending: dele → del. Example: Del billedet. — “Share the picture.” filen means “the file.” The noun is fil; its definite singular form adds -en: fil → filen. Thus Danish can mark “the” on the noun itself. The singular definite ending here is -en, while the plural definite ending seen in noterne is -ne. The conjunction og links the two instructions. Together, Opdater noterne says “Update the notes,” and del filen says “share the file.” Both verbs are imperatives, so the whole utterance is a direct instruction to update the notes and share the file. The wording is concise and suitable for a practical instruction.

7. Jeg sender opdateringen til teamet.

   I will send the update to the team.

   Jeg

   I

   sender

   send

   opdateringen

   the update

   teamet

   the team

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: it is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out the action. The corresponding object form is mig (“me”), as in Hun ser mig — “She sees me.” sender is the present-tense form of sende, “to send.” In Danish, the present tense can describe a planned or expected future action when the context makes that timing clear; the fixed translation therefore gives “will send.” The same form is used with different subjects: jeg sender (“I send / I will send”) and de sender (“they send / they will send”). opdateringen means “the update” in this sentence. Its base form is opdatering (“update”), and -en marks the definite singular form for this noun: opdatering → opdateringen. The definite form presents the update as an identifiable item in the situation. For example, Jeg læser opdateringen means “I read the update.” teamet means “the team.” Its base form is team, and -et marks the definite singular form: team → teamet. The preposition til before it means “to,” so this noun phrase is the destination or recipient of the sending. For example, Hun sender filen til teamet means “She sends the file to the team.” Together, Jeg sender gives “I will send” in the intended future reading, opdateringen is the thing being sent, and til teamet identifies the recipient. The complete utterance means: “I will send the update to the team.”

8. Så vil alle have den nyeste version.

   Then everyone will have the latest version.

   Så

   Then

   vil

   will

   alle

   everyone

   have

   have

   nyeste

   latest

   version

   version

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links this sentence to the preceding situation. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but “then” is the meaning supported here. vil is the present-tense form of ville. With an infinitive such as have, it expresses what someone will have or intends to have. The subject is alle, so the sentence says that everyone will have it; vil itself does not change form for this plural subject. alle means “everyone” here. It refers to all the relevant people as a group. It can also be used with a plural noun, as in alle deltagere (“all participants”), but in this sentence it stands independently. have is the infinitive “to have.” After the modal vil, Danish uses the infinitive: vil have = “will have.” The same verb can be used for possession or for something that someone is going to receive or hold, depending on context. nyeste is the superlative form of ny (“new”): ny → nyere (“newer”) → nyest (“newest”). With den, the form is nyeste, agreeing with the definite noun phrase den nyeste version. It means “latest” here, referring to the newest version available or relevant. version is a noun meaning “version.” The phrase den nyeste version means “the latest version.” version is a common gender noun in Danish, which is why the definite article here is den, not det; the article belongs to the noun phrase, while nyeste is the adjective’s superlative form. Together, Så vil alle have den nyeste version has the pattern Så + vil + subject + infinitive + noun phrase. Så gives the link “then”; vil have gives “will have”; alle supplies the subject “everyone”; and den nyeste version supplies what everyone will have. The complete meaning is “Then everyone will have the latest version.”