Explaining a Grammar Pattern | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kan du forklare dette grammatiske mønster igen?

   Could you explain this grammar pattern again?

   Kan du

   could you

   forklare

   explain

   dette

   this

   grammatiske

   grammatical

   mønster

   pattern

   igen

   again

   More detail

   Kan du is the Danish question pattern “can you …?” Here kan is the present form of kunne (“can, be able to”), and du is the second-person singular pronoun (“you”). In this sentence, the pattern makes a polite request rather than asserting physical ability. Danish places the modal before the subject in this question: Kan du ...? Example: Kan du vente? — “Can you wait?” forklare means “to explain.” It is the infinitive of forklare, and it follows the modal kan: kan + infinitive. Example: Kan du forklare det? — “Can you explain it?” dette means “this.” It is the neuter singular form of the demonstrative used with the neuter noun mønster. The demonstrative identifies one specific nearby or contextually known thing; its grammatical form is determined by the noun’s gender and number, not by the person being addressed. grammatiske means “grammatical” here. Its base form is grammatisk; grammatiske is the form used with a definite noun phrase or with a demonstrative such as dette, and it is also used with plural nouns. In this phrase, the demonstrative and adjective together specify one particular grammar pattern. Example: dette grammatiske eksempel — “this grammatical example.” mønster means “pattern.” In this use it is a neuter singular noun: et mønster — “a pattern.” With the demonstrative, the phrase becomes dette ... mønster — “this ... pattern.” The word can describe a recurring structure, including a language pattern. igen means “again.” It indicates that the explaining is requested one more time, without specifying exactly when the earlier explanation occurred. Example: Læs sætningen igen. — “Read the sentence again.” Together, Kan du forms the request, forklare names the requested action, dette grammatiske mønster identifies the specific object of that action, and igen adds repetition. The whole utterance therefore means: “Could you explain this grammar pattern again?”

2. Det viser, at en handling allerede er afsluttet.

   It shows that an action is already complete.

   viser

   shows

   handling

   action

   allerede

   already

   afsluttet

   complete

   More detail

   viser is the present-tense form of vise, “to show”. The subject is Det, meaning “it” here; viser is not changed for gender. For example: Billedet viser en bygning. — “The picture shows a building.” handling means “action” and is the singular indefinite form of the noun. Its definite singular form is handlingen, and its plural is handlinger. The article en marks this noun as singular indefinite; it does not by itself add a numerical emphasis beyond introducing one unspecified action. allerede means “already”. It places the event before the relevant reference point: Arbejdet er allerede afsluttet. — “The work is already complete.” afsluttet means “complete” in this sentence. It is the past participle of afslutte, “to complete”, used with er to describe a resulting state: er afsluttet means “is complete” here. The same participle also occurs in perfect or passive constructions, so its exact English rendering depends on the surrounding structure. at introduces the clause that states what is shown. Inside that clause, en handling is the subject, er is the present form of være (“to be”), and afsluttet describes the action’s resulting state. Together, Det viser means “It shows”, and at en handling allerede er afsluttet means “that an action is already complete”. The complete utterance therefore means: “It shows that an action is already complete.”

3. Hvorfor ændrer verbet sig i denne sætning?

   Why does the verb change in this sentence?

   Hvorfor

   why

   ændrer … sig

   changes

   verbet

   the verb

   denne

   this

   sætning

   sentence

   More detail

   Hvorfor asks for a reason: “why”. It can introduce a question about the cause of an event or state. Example: Hvorfor kommer du? — “Why are you coming?” ændrer sig means “changes” here. The lexical verb is ændre, “to change”; ændrer is its present-tense form. sig is a reflexive pronoun used with this construction, so ændre sig means “to change” or “to change itself,” rather than “to change something else.” Compare ændrer formen — “changes the form,” where formen is the thing being changed. In the question, ændrer comes before the subject verbet, as is normal in this type of Danish question after Hvorfor. verbet means “the verb.” Its base form is verb, and -et marks the definite singular form in this noun: et verb — “a verb”; verbet — “the verb.” The noun is the subject of ændrer sig, even though it follows the verb in the question order. denne means “this” and points to one specific nearby or contextually identified item. It is used here with the singular noun sætning. The form denne is the common-gender singular form; Danish also uses dette with neuter singular nouns and disse with plural nouns. sætning means “sentence.” Its indefinite form is en sætning, and its definite singular form is sætningen, “the sentence.” In denne sætning, the demonstrative already identifies the sentence as “this sentence,” so the noun remains in its indefinite form rather than taking the definite ending. Together, Hvorfor asks for the cause, ændrer sig describes a change, verbet identifies what changes, and i denne sætning specifies where the change is being considered. The whole utterance therefore means: “Why does the verb change in this sentence?” The present-tense question asks about the reason for the verb’s change in the specified sentence.

4. Formen ændrer sig, fordi begivenheden er afsluttet.

   The form changes because the event is finished.

   Formen

   the form

   ændrer sig

   changes

   fordi

   because

   begivenheden

   the event

   afsluttet

   finished

   More detail

   Formen is the definite singular form of en form (“a form”): en form → formen (“the form”). Danish definite nouns often add an ending rather than use a separate word for “the”. The noun is the subject here, so the sentence is about the form that changes. ændrer sig means “changes” here. ændrer is the present tense of ændre (“change”), and sig is the reflexive pronoun used with this change construction. The pattern noget ændrer sig means “something changes” or “something changes its state”; it is different from ændrer noget, “changes something,” where the object is affected directly. Example: Planen ændrer sig. — “The plan changes.” fordi introduces the reason for the preceding clause and corresponds to “because”. A clause after fordi gives the explanation for what happens in the main clause. begivenheden is the definite singular of en begivenhed (“an event”): en begivenhed → begivenheden (“the event”). The definite ending marks this as a specific event in the sentence, without stating how many events there are. afsluttet is the past participle of afslutte (“finish” or “complete”). With er—which appears in the fixed sentence as er afsluttet—it describes the event’s resulting state: “is finished” or “has been completed.” This does not mean that afsluttet is the base form; its base verb is afslutte. Example: Arbejdet er afsluttet. — “The work is finished.” Together, Formen ændrer sig says “The form changes.” The clause fordi begivenheden er afsluttet gives the reason: “because the event is finished.” Thus the whole utterance means “The form changes because the event is finished.”

5. Kan du give mig et andet eksempel?

   Can you give me another example?

   Kan du

   can you

   give

   give

   mig

   me

   andet

   another

   eksempel

   example

   More detail

   Kan du places the modal verb kan before the subject du, which is the normal order for a yes/no question in Danish. kan is the present form of kunne (“can, be able to”) and does not change for person: jeg kan, du kan, de kan. In this sentence it asks whether the addressee is able or willing to provide something. After a modal verb, Danish uses the infinitive without at: kan give, not kan at give. give means “give” here. Its base form is give; after a modal it remains in this form. The verb can also occur with at: at give (“to give”), but the at is absent after kan. mig is the object form of the first-person pronoun: jeg is “I” when it is the subject, while mig is “me” when it receives the action. Here, the requested item would be given to the speaker. Example: Hun giver mig bogen. — “She gives me the book.” andet means “another” in this sentence. It is the neuter singular form in the pattern et andet eksempel: anden is used with common-gender singular nouns, andet with neuter singular nouns, and andre with plural nouns. The form agrees with eksempel, which is a neuter noun: et andet eksempel, “another example.” eksempel means “example.” Its indefinite singular form is et eksempel, and its plural is eksempler. In the sentence, it is the thing being requested. Example: Det er et godt eksempel. — “That is a good example.” Together, Kan du give mig et andet eksempel? forms a polite request phrased as a question: “Can you give me another example?” The order is modal kan + subject du + infinitive give + recipient mig + the requested item et andet eksempel.

6. Nogen åbnede bogen før undervisningen.

   Someone opened the book before class.

   Nogen

   someone

   åbnede

   opened

   bogen

   the book

   før

   before

   undervisningen

   class

   More detail

   Nogen means “someone” here and is the subject of the sentence. It is an indefinite pronoun: the person is not identified, and the word does not itself state a specific number beyond its indefinite-person meaning. In other contexts, nogen can also mean “anyone” or “any,” so the surrounding sentence determines the reading. åbnede means “opened” here. It is the past-tense form of åbne (“to open”): åbne → åbner (present) → åbnede (past). For example, Hun åbnede døren. means “She opened the door.” bogen means “the book.” The noun is bog (“book”); bogen is its singular definite form, formed with the ending -en. Compare en bog (“a book”) with bogen (“the book”). The ending belongs to the noun form, rather than being a separate word before it. før means “before” in this time expression. Before a noun phrase, it introduces the earlier time: før mødet means “before the meeting.” It can also introduce a clause, as in før han kommer (“before he comes”), but here it is followed by undervisningen. undervisningen means “the class” in the supplied translation. Its base noun is undervisning, referring to teaching or instruction; undervisningen is the singular definite form, with -en. The exact English choice can depend on context: the same noun may refer to instruction or a class/session. Together, Nogen åbnede bogen means “Someone opened the book.” The time phrase før undervisningen places that opening earlier than the class or lesson. The complete utterance therefore means “Someone opened the book before class.”

7. Det gør mønsteret lettere at forstå.

   That makes the pattern easier to understand.

   Det

   that

   gør

   makes

   mønsteret

   the pattern

   lettere

   easier

   forstå

   understand

   More detail

   Det is the subject meaning “that” here. Danish det is used for a singular neuter referent or an understood situation; the sentence itself does not identify exactly what it refers to. It is different from den, which is used with singular common-gender nouns. gør is the present-tense form of gøre, “to make” or “to do.” Danish present forms generally do not change for the subject’s person or number: for example, jeg gør and de gør both use gør. In this sentence, gør introduces a result or change: it makes something have a certain quality. mønsteret means “the pattern.” Its base form is mønster; the ending -et marks the definite singular form for this neuter noun: et mønster → mønsteret. The definite form presents the pattern as identifiable in the shared context. lettere means “easier.” It is the comparative form of let (“easy”): let → lettere (“easier”) → lettest (“easiest”). Here it describes the resulting degree of difficulty for mønsteret, not a change in the noun’s form. forstå means “understand.” It is the infinitive form, used after at (“to”). The sequence lettere at forstå is a reusable pattern meaning “easier to understand.” For example, Denne forklaring gør reglen lettere at forstå. — “This explanation makes the rule easier to understand.” Together, gør + object + comparative adjective + at-infinitive forms the pattern “make [something] easier to [verb].” Thus Det gør mønsteret lettere at forstå. means “That makes the pattern easier to understand.”

8. Prøv nu at lave din egen sætning.

   Now try making your own sentence.

   Prøv

   try

   nu

   now

   at lave

   to make

   din

   your

   egen

   own

   sætning

   sentence

   More detail

   Prøv means “try” here. It is the imperative of prøve (“to try”): prøv! is the form used to give one person a direct suggestion or instruction. For example, Prøv igen. means “Try again.” nu means “now” and places the suggested action in the present situation. It can also occur elsewhere in a sentence, but here it directly sets the timing of the instruction. at lave means “to make” in the infinitive construction at + infinitive. The verb is lave; at lave is the form used after prøve when the attempted action is specified. For example, Jeg prøver at forstå det. means “I am trying to understand it.” din means “your” for one owner when the possessed noun is singular and common gender. Danish possessives agree with the possessed noun, not with the owner: compare din sætning (“your sentence”) with dit svar (“your answer”) and dine sætninger (“your sentences”). egen adds the meaning “own” and emphasizes that the sentence belongs to the person addressed rather than being copied from someone else. It agrees with the common-gender singular noun sætning; the related forms are eget with a neuter singular noun and egne with a plural noun. For example, Hun har sin egen idé. means “She has her own idea.” sætning means “sentence.” It is a common-gender noun: en sætning is “a sentence,” and its definite form is sætningen (“the sentence”). Together, Prøv nu gives the instruction “Try now,” and at lave din egen sætning specifies what to try: making a sentence of the addressee’s own. The complete utterance therefore means “Now try making your own sentence.”