Practising a role-play together | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kan vi øve dette rollespil sammen?

   Can we practice this role-play together?

   Kan vi

   Can we

   øve

   practice

   dette

   this

   rollespil

   role-play

   sammen

   together

   More detail

   Kan vi begins a yes/no question. kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can, be able to”), and vi means “we,” the first-person plural pronoun. In this sentence, kan expresses whether the speakers are able or willing to do the activity. Danish commonly places this finite modal before the subject in a question: Kan vi ...? — “Can we ...?” øve is the infinitive “to practise/practice.” After the modal kan, Danish uses the infinitive without an infinitive marker: kan øve, not a finite form of the verb after kan. For example, Vi kan øve i morgen. means “We can practise tomorrow.” dette means “this” and is the singular neuter form of the demonstrative. It agrees with the neuter noun rollespil, which uses the indefinite article et: et rollespil, “a role-play.” Danish contrasts this form with denne for a common-gender singular noun and disse for plural nouns. For example, dette hus means “this house,” while denne stol means “this chair.” rollespil is the noun “role-play.” It is a compound noun and refers here to the activity the speakers want to practise. Its definite form is rollespillet, “the role-play.” The following context’s den anden rolle (“the other role”) is compatible with this activity, but it does not change the meaning of rollespil here. sammen is the adverb “together.” It describes doing the activity jointly: Vi arbejder sammen. means “We work together.” It is separate from the verb and can be reused with other activities, such as Vi læser sammen. — “We read together.” Together, Kan vi øve dette rollespil sammen? means “Can we practise this role-play together?” The question has the pattern Kan + subject + infinitive + object + adverb?: the speakers ask whether they can jointly practise the specified role-play.

2. Jeg kan tage den anden rolle.

   I can take the other role.

   Jeg

   I

   kan

   can

   tage

   take

   den

   the

   anden

   other

   rolle

   role

   More detail

   Jeg is the Danish first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It identifies the speaker as the one who can perform the action. A useful contrast is jeg “I” versus du “you” when addressing one person. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can” or “be able to.” Here it expresses the possibility or ability stated by the fixed translation. After kan, Danish uses the infinitive without at: Jeg kan tage ... means “I can take ...”. tage is the infinitive of tage, “to take.” It follows the modal kan and therefore stays in the infinitive rather than taking a present-tense ending. Example: Jeg kan tage en pause. — “I can take a break.” den is the form used before a singular common-gender noun when an adjective comes between the article and noun. In den anden rolle, it helps mark the noun phrase as definite. Without an intervening adjective, the definite form is normally expressed by the noun ending: rollen means “the role.” den is not itself a numeric word. anden means “other” here and agrees with the singular common-gender noun rolle. The same form can also mean “second” in a context about order, but the fixed translation supports “other” in this sentence. Danish has related forms such as andet with singular neuter nouns and andre with plural nouns; for example, et andet svar means “another answer,” while andre svar means “other answers.” rolle means “role.” It is singular and indefinite in its basic form; its definite form is rollen (“the role”), and its plural is roller (“roles”). With the article and adjective here, the noun appears in its basic form inside the definite noun phrase den anden rolle. Together, den anden rolle forms the noun phrase “the other role”: den marks the definite construction before the adjective, anden describes which role, and rolle names it. The whole utterance Jeg kan tage den anden rolle. means “I can take the other role.” The subject is the speaker, and kan tage expresses that taking the role is possible or within the speaker’s ability.

3. Hold en pause efter hvert spørgsmål, tak.

   Please pause after each question.

   Hold

   hold

   pause

   break

   efter

   after

   hvert

   each

   spørgsmål

   question

   tak

   please

   More detail

   Hold is the imperative of holde (“to hold”). In the reusable expression holde en pause, it means “take/have a break” rather than physically hold something. Imperatives give a direct instruction; for example, Vent! means “Wait!” pause is the noun “break” in this expression. The useful pattern is holde en pause, meaning “take a break.” efter means “after” and introduces what follows in time. For example, efter mødet means “after the meeting.” hvert means “each/every” here. It is the form of hver used with a singular neuter noun. spørgsmål is neuter, so the phrase uses hvert spørgsmål; with a singular common-gender noun, the corresponding form can be hver, as in hver dag (“each day”). This does not assert a numerical total; it refers to the questions one by one. spørgsmål means “question.” Its plural is also spørgsmål, so number is understood from the surrounding words: et spørgsmål is “a question,” while flere spørgsmål is “several questions.” tak literally means “thanks,” but at the end of a request it works as a polite “please.” It softens the instruction without changing its basic action. Together, holde en pause efter hvert spørgsmål means “pause after each question.” The imperative Hold makes this a direct request, and tak adds politeness. The complete utterance therefore asks the listener to pause after every question.

4. Så får du tid til at svare naturligt.

   That will give you time to answer naturally.

   Så

   that way

   får

   get

   du

   you

   tid

   time

   til at

   to

   svare

   answer

   naturligt

   naturally

   More detail

   Så introduces the consequence of what came before. Here it means “that way” or “then,” linking the earlier pause instruction to its result. In other contexts, så can have other functions, so its meaning comes from its position and context here. får is the present form of få. In du får tid, it means “you get” or “you have” time; in this context the result can naturally be translated with future-oriented English “will give you time.” The Danish present form itself does not need a separate future ending. Få has several common uses, including “get,” “receive,” and “be allowed to,” so the surrounding construction matters. du is the second-person singular pronoun, “you.” It is the subject of får; du is used for one addressee, while I is the plural “you.” tid is the noun “time.” In this sentence it refers to available time for the action that follows, not to a clock time or a specific appointment. The pattern få tid til ... is reusable for saying that someone gets time to do something. til at introduces the action for which the time is available. In tid til at svare, til connects tid with an infinitive clause, and at marks the infinitive. A reusable pattern is få tid til at + verb: for example, Jeg får tid til at læse. — “I get time to read.” svare is the infinitive of svare, “to answer” or “to respond.” The infinitive is required after at in this construction. For example, Hun prøver at svare. — “She tries to answer.” naturligt describes how the answering is done: “naturally.” It is an adverb here, modifying svare. It is related to the adjective naturlig; the form naturligt is also the neuter singular adjective form and is used adverbially in this way. For example, Tal naturligt. — “Speak naturally.” Together, Så får du tid means “That way, you get time,” and til at svare naturligt specifies what the time is for: answering naturally. The complete utterance therefore means “That will give you time to answer naturally,” or, more literally, “That way you will have time to answer naturally.”

5. Hvis jeg laver en fejl, så gentag replikken, tak.

   If I make a mistake, please repeat the line.

   Hvis

   if

   jeg

   I

   laver

   make

   en fejl

   a mistake

   så

   then

   gentag

   repeat

   replikken

   the line

   tak

   please

   More detail

   Hvis introduces a condition: “if …”. It is useful for a clause whose situation is presented as a possibility or condition. Example: Hvis du kommer, bliver jeg glad. — “If you come, I will be happy.” jeg is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person doing the action. Danish uses jeg for the subject regardless of the speaker’s gender. laver is the present-tense form of lave, “to make/do.” Here it means “make” in the expression lave en fejl, “make a mistake.” Example: Jeg laver ikke en fejl. — “I am not making a mistake.” en fejl means “a mistake.” fejl is a common-gender noun, and en is its indefinite article. The article presents a mistake without making a numerical claim that there is exactly one mistake in every possible context. The definite form is fejlen, “the mistake.” så means “then” here. After a conditional clause, it marks the consequence: “if this happens, then do that.” It is separate from Hvis; together, Hvis …, så … form a reusable conditional pattern. Example: Hvis du er træt, så hvil dig. — “If you are tired, then rest.” gentag is the imperative of gentage, “repeat.” The imperative directly tells the listener to perform the action. Example: Gentag spørgsmålet. — “Repeat the question.” replikken means “the line.” It is the definite singular form of replik, so the form identifies a particular line in the context rather than introducing an unspecified one. The indefinite form is en replik, “a line.” tak means “thanks” or “please” in this position. At the end of a request, it softens the request and corresponds naturally to “please.” The sentence follows the pattern Hvis + subject + present-tense condition, så + imperative request: Hvis jeg laver en fejl means “If I make a mistake,” and så gentag replikken, tak means “then please repeat the line.” Together, the speaker asks the listener to repeat the line whenever the speaker makes a mistake.

6. Jeg vil sige det langsomt og vise dig én vigtig rettelse.

   I will say it slowly and point out one important correction.

   Jeg vil

   I will

   sige

   say

   det

   it

   langsomt

   slowly

   vise

   show; point out

   dig

   you

   én

   one

   vigtig

   important

   rettelse

   correction

   More detail

   Jeg vil combines the first-person subject Jeg (“I”) with vil, the present-tense form of ville. With an infinitive after it, vil expresses a future action or intention; here the fixed translation supports “I will …”. The same pattern is reusable with another infinitive: Jeg vil lære. — “I will learn.” sige is the infinitive “to say.” Its useful forms include sige (infinitive), siger (present), sagde (past), and sagt (past participle). After vil, Danish uses the infinitive without an extra infinitive marker: Jeg vil sige — “I will say.” det is the pronoun “it” here and functions as the object of sige. The sentence does not identify its referent more narrowly. Danish det can also have other grammatical roles, so its interpretation depends on the surrounding construction. langsomt means “slowly” here and describes how the saying is done. It is also the neuter singular form of the adjective langsom (“slow”) and commonly has an adverbial use in this kind of sentence. Han taler langsomt. — “He speaks slowly.” vise is the infinitive of “to show” and, in the fixed translation, “to point out.” Its main forms are vise, viser, viste, and vist. It is coordinated with sige and shares the modal vil: vil sige og vise means “will say and show/point out.” dig is the second-person singular object form “you.” The corresponding subject form is du: Du hjælper mig. — “You help me.” Here dig is the recipient of what is shown or pointed out; it is not the subject of vise. én is the numeral “one.” The accent distinguishes this stressed numeral from the article-like form en; here it explicitly states a count of one. The following noun is therefore singular. vigtig is the adjective “important.” It has the common-gender singular form in vigtig rettelse. Compare vigtigt with a neuter singular noun and vigtige in plural or definite contexts: en vigtig regel — “an important rule”; et vigtigt svar — “an important answer.” rettelse is the noun “correction.” Its plural is rettelser. In én vigtig rettelse, it is the noun counted by én and described by vigtig. At sentence level, Jeg vil supplies the first-person future intention. The infinitives sige and vise are joined by og and share that intention. det langsomt means “it slowly,” with langsomt describing the manner of saying, while vise dig én vigtig rettelse means “show you one important correction” or, compatibly with the fixed translation, “point out one important correction to you.” The complete utterance means: “I will say it slowly and point out one important correction.”

7. Det hjælper mig med at føle mig mindre nervøs.

   That helps me feel less nervous.

   Det

   that

   hjælper

   helps

   mig

   me

   med at

   to, with …-ing

   føle

   feel

   mig

   myself

   mindre

   less

   nervøs

   nervous

   More detail

   Det is the Danish form meaning “that” here. It functions as the subject and refers to the preceding action or situation as a whole, rather than identifying a particular noun. Danish also uses det in other roles, so its exact referent must come from context. hjælper comes from hjælpe, “to help”. It is present tense: “helps”. In Danish, the present form does not change for the subject’s person or number in the way English forms such as “help” and “helps” do. Example: Det hjælper. — “That helps.” The first mig is the object of hjælper: the help affects the speaker. mig is the first-person singular object form, corresponding to subject jeg (“I”). Example: Hun hjælper mig. — “She helps me.” med at introduces an activity that the help makes easier or supports. A useful pattern is hjælpe nogen med at + infinitive: “help someone to … / help someone with …-ing”. The following infinitive names the activity, so hjælper mig med at føle means “helps me feel”. føle is the infinitive of føle, “to feel”. The infinitive follows at here. Danish also uses føle sig for a person’s own state or experience; the reflexive object in this sentence is the second mig. This second mig refers back to the person experiencing the feeling: “myself”. It is still the first-person singular object form, but its role is reflexive rather than the object of hjælper. Thus føle mig means “feel myself” in the sense “feel”. Compare the reusable pattern jeg føler mig træt — “I feel tired.” mindre is the comparative form meaning “less” here. The useful comparison chain is lidt (“a little”) → mindre (“less”) → mindst (“least”). It modifies the degree of the nervous feeling; it does not say that the person is completely calm. nervøs means “nervous” and describes the state being felt. The form shown is the common-gender singular adjective form; adjectives can have other forms in contexts requiring neuter singular or plural/definite agreement. It is not a form of mig, and Danish adjectives do not mark the person of the experiencer. Together, Det hjælper gives “That helps”, mig med at føle mig gives “me feel”, and mindre nervøs gives “less nervous”. The complete utterance therefore means “That helps me feel less nervous.”

8. Begynd med denne scene.

   Start with this scene.

   Begynd

   begin; start

   med

   with

   denne

   this

   scene

   scene

   More detail

   Begynd is the imperative of begynde, “to begin” or “to start.” The imperative gives a direct instruction and normally has no stated subject. Compare begynd (“begin!”) with begynder (“begin/start” in the present tense). Example: Begynd her. — “Start here.” med means “with.” In this sentence it introduces what the instruction should start with: begynd med + something. Example: Vi begynder med en øvelse. — “We begin with an exercise.” denne means “this” and appears before a singular common-gender noun. scene is a common-gender noun, so the form is denne scene; Danish uses dette with a singular neuter noun and disse with a plural noun. Example: Denne bog er interessant. — “This book is interesting.” scene means “scene.” Its definite form is scenen (“the scene”), and its plural is scener (“scenes”). Here it refers to the scene selected as the starting point. Together, Begynd med denne scene. means “Start with this scene.” The imperative Begynd gives the instruction, med marks the starting material, and denne scene identifies that material. The sentence is a concise, direct instruction.

9. Jeg vil følge dit tempo.

   I will follow your pace.

   Jeg vil

   I will

   følge

   follow

   dit

   your

   tempo

   pace

   More detail

   Jeg vil means “I will” here. Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. vil is the present-tense form of ville; with a following infinitive, it forms a future or intended action: Jeg vil følge = “I will follow”. The same vil can express wanting in other contexts, so the following verb and context help determine the meaning. følge is the infinitive “to follow”. After vil, Danish uses the infinitive without an infinitive marker: Jeg vil følge ... (“I will follow ...”). The form følge itself does not show who performs the action; Jeg identifies the actor here. dit means “your” before a singular neuter noun. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the owner: tempo is neuter singular, so dit tempo. Useful contrasts are din before a singular common-gender noun and dine before plural nouns. For example, din bog means “your book”, while dine bøger means “your books”. tempo means “pace” or “speed of movement”. In this utterance it is the pace belonging to the person addressed. The noun is neuter singular, which is why the possessive form is dit. Together, Jeg vil + følge expresses the speaker’s future or intended action, and dit tempo identifies the pace being followed. The complete utterance means: “I will follow your pace.”