Changing Plans and Saying Sorry | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Undskyld, jeg er nødt til at ændre vores plan.

   I'm sorry, I need to change our plan.

   Undskyld

   Sorry

   jeg er nødt til at

   I need to

   ændre

   change

   vores

   our

   plan

   plan

   More detail

   Undskyld is the apology word used here: “Sorry.” It is also used as “Excuse me” when getting someone’s attention or interrupting. The form is related to the verb undskylde “to apologize / excuse,” but in this sentence Undskyld functions as a standalone apology. jeg er nødt til at is a reusable Danish necessity pattern meaning “I need to” or “I have to.” jeg is “I,” and er is the present form of være “to be.” The expression is literally structured around being obliged or compelled, so it presents the action as necessary rather than merely desired. The pattern is jeg er nødt til at + infinitive: Jeg er nødt til at gå. — “I need to leave.” ændre means “to change” or “to alter.” It is an infinitive, required here after at in the necessity pattern. The same verb can describe changing a plan, a date, or another arrangement: Vi vil ændre datoen. — “We want to change the date.” vores means “our” before a noun. In this use, it is a possessive determiner. Unlike some Danish possessive forms, vores does not change according to the gender or number of the noun it accompanies. It is different from vores used alone in a phrase such as Det er vores — “It is ours,” where it stands without a following noun. plan means “plan.” It is a noun; its definite singular form is planen, and its plural is planer. Here it is the object of ændre, the thing being changed. Example: Planen er enkel. — “The plan is simple.” Together, Undskyld gives the apology, and jeg er nødt til at ændre vores plan says that the speaker needs to alter a plan shared by the speaker and at least one other person. The full utterance is therefore: “Sorry, I need to change our plan.”

2. Jeg er glad for, at du sagde det, før jeg gik.

   I'm glad you told me before I left.

   Jeg er

   I am

   glad

   glad

   for

   about

   sagde

   said

   det

   it

   før

   before

   gik

   left

   More detail

   Jeg er means “I am.” Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”; er is the present form of være (“be”). Danish uses er with all persons in the present: jeg er (“I am”), du er (“you are”), and de er (“they are”). glad means “glad” or “happy” here. It is an adjective. A useful pattern is glad for + noun or glad for, at + clause, meaning that someone is pleased about something: Jeg er glad for hjælpen. — “I am happy about the help.” for contributes “about” in the expression glad for. In this sentence it introduces the reason for the speaker’s happiness; the following clause explains what the speaker is happy about. sagde is the past form of sige (“say”). In sagde det, it means “said it”; the fixed translation renders the complete expression du sagde det as “you told me.” Danish uses the same past form sagde for this verb rather than a separate form corresponding to the English distinction between “said” and “told.” Present and past contrast as siger (“says/is saying”) and sagde (“said”). det is a neutral third-person singular pronoun meaning “it” in this sentence. Its specific referent is not identified by the utterance itself, so it is best learned as a neutral pronoun used for an already understood matter or piece of information. før means “before” and introduces a clause or event that happens earlier than another event. The pattern før + subject + verb is reusable: Ring, før du går. — “Call before you leave.” gik is the past form of gå (“go,” and in this context “leave”). The basic contrast is går (“goes/is going”) versus gik (“went/left”). The subject jeg makes the meaning here “I left.” Together, Jeg er glad for means “I am glad about,” and at du sagde det identifies the event that caused the happiness: “that you told me/said it.” før jeg gik adds the time relation, placing that telling before the speaker’s leaving. The whole utterance therefore means: “I’m glad you told me before I left.”

3. Der skete noget uventet.

   Something unexpected came up.

   skete

   happened; occurred

   noget

   something

   uventet

   unexpected

   More detail

   skete is the past-tense form of ske, “to happen.” It describes an event that took place, rather than an action deliberately performed by a stated person. Compare sker (“happens / is happening”) and skete (“happened”). noget means “something.” It is an indefinite pronoun used when the particular thing is not identified. In noget uventet, it introduces an unspecified thing and has the neuter form used with the following adjective. Example: Der skete noget mærkeligt. — “Something strange happened.” uventet means “unexpected” here. It is related to vente, “to expect / wait,” but it should be learned as the adjective uventet. In this phrase it has the form used after neuter noget; the form is also unchanged in some other singular adjective environments, while plural definite forms commonly end in -e, as in de uventede hændelser (“the unexpected events”). Together, Der skete noget uventet. uses Der in a presentational/existential pattern, followed by the past event verb skete and the indefinite phrase noget uventet, “something unexpected.” The whole utterance means “Something unexpected happened,” matching the fixed translation “Something unexpected came up.”

4. Det er helt i orden. Vi kan vælge en anden dag.

   That's all right. We can choose another day.

   Det er

   it is

   helt i orden

   completely all right

   Vi kan

   we can

   vælge

   choose

   anden

   another

   dag

   day

   More detail

   Det er means “it is” here. Det is the Danish neuter-form pronoun used as the subject of this fixed expression; it does not identify a particular person or thing. Er is the present form of være (“to be”). Example: Det er svært. — “It is difficult.” helt i orden is a reusable expression meaning “completely all right” or, naturally, “that’s perfectly okay.” Helt strengthens the expression by meaning “completely.” I orden literally contains “in order,” but the combined expression is the relevant meaning here. Example: Det er i orden. — “That’s okay.” Vi kan means “we can.” Vi is the first-person plural pronoun “we.” Kan is the present form of the modal verb kunne; it expresses ability or possibility here. A modal is followed by an infinitive: Vi kan vælge — “We can choose.” vælge is the infinitive “to choose.” After kan, it remains in the infinitive rather than taking a personal ending. Example: Vi kan vente. — “We can wait.” anden means “another” in this noun phrase. It is the common-gender singular indefinite form of anden; the noun dag shows that the phrase is singular and common gender. Related forms include andet with a neuter singular noun and andre in the plural. Example: en anden mulighed — “another possibility.” dag means “day.” It is a common-gender noun: en dag (“a day”), dagen (“the day”), and dage (“days”). Example: Vi ses en anden dag. — “We’ll see each other another day.” Together, Vi kan vælge en anden dag means “We can choose another day”: kan marks the possibility, vælge supplies the action, and en anden dag is the singular noun phrase being chosen. The complete utterance therefore means “That’s all right. We can choose another day.”

5. Ville det passe dig senere på ugen?

   Would later this week work for you?

   Ville det

   would it

   passe

   work; suit

   dig

   you

   senere

   later

   ugen

   week

   More detail

   Ville det introduces a polite, hypothetical question. ville is the past form of vil and can express “would” in this kind of question; det is the formal subject of the construction, without identifying a separate concrete thing. Compare Vil det passe...? “Will that work...?” with Ville det passe...? “Would that work...?” passe means “work” or “suit” here. After the modal ville, the following verb stays in the infinitive: ville passe, not a finite form. The same verb can describe suitability for a person or situation, as in Det passer mig — “That suits me.” dig is the object form of the second-person singular pronoun: du is the subject form “you,” while dig is used after a verb or preposition. In this sentence, the question asks whether the proposed time would suit you. senere means “later.” It is a time adverb and does not change for number or gender. For example, Vi taler senere means “We’ll talk later.” ugen is the definite singular form of uge, “week”: en uge means “a week,” while ugen means “the week.” In senere på ugen, the phrase means “later in the week.” The preposition på forms part of this time expression; it is not necessary to translate it as a separate physical “on” here. Together, ville det passe dig asks whether something would suit the listener, and senere på ugen supplies the proposed time. The complete utterance therefore means: “Would later this week work for you?”

6. Det passer fint for mig senere på ugen.

   Later this week is fine for me.

   passer

   works; is suitable

   fint

   fine; well

   for mig

   for me

   senere på ugen

   later this week

   More detail

   passer means “works” or “is suitable” here. It is the present-tense form of passe; Danish verbs do not change form for person or number, so passer can be used with different subjects. Example: Det passer mig. — “That works for me.” fint adds the idea that the arrangement works well or is quite acceptable. It is related to fin (“fine”). In det passer fint, fint functions adverbially, describing how well it works; it is not selected because det is neuter. The same form is also used as the neuter singular form of the adjective in appropriate contexts, but that is a different use. Example: Det er fint. — “It is fine.” for mig means “for me.” mig is the object form of the first-person pronoun; compare jeg (“I”) when it is the subject: Jeg kan komme. — “I can come.” After the preposition for, Danish uses mig here. senere på ugen means “later this week” or, more literally, “later in the week.” senere is the comparative form of sen (“late”), used for a later time. på ugen is part of the time expression; together with senere, it specifies the relevant period rather than naming a specific day. The whole utterance is assembled as Det passer fint for mig senere på ugen. Det is the subject of passer, fint evaluates how well the arrangement works, for mig identifies whose schedule it suits, and senere på ugen specifies when. Thus the sentence means: “Later this week is fine for me.”

7. Jeg kan sende dig den nye plan.

   I can send you the new plan.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   sende

   send

   dig

   you

   den

   the

   nye

   new

   plan

   plan

   More detail

   Jeg kan means “I can” here. Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”, and kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can / be able to”). In Danish, kan is followed by an infinitive without at: Jeg kan sende = “I can send.” Example: Jeg kan hjælpe. — “I can help.” sende means “to send”. It is the infinitive form, used after the modal verb kan. The same form is used with different subjects after kan: Hun kan sende. — “She can send.” dig means “you” as the object of the action. It is the object form corresponding to the subject form du: Du kan hjælpe mig.` — “You can help me.” den is the definite article/determiner used here with a common-gender singular noun. It means “the” and identifies the noun as definite; it does not by itself state a numerical quantity. nye means “new” here. Its base form is ny. Before a definite noun, the adjective takes the form nye: den nye plan — “the new plan.” Danish also uses ny with an indefinite common-gender singular noun (en ny plan) and nyt with an indefinite neuter noun (et nyt forslag, “a new proposal”). plan means “plan”. It is a common-gender noun; the definite singular form is planen (“the plan”). In this sentence, definiteness is expressed by the separate determiner den, while plan remains the indefinite-looking noun form inside the phrase den nye plan. Together, Jeg kan sende dig den nye plan has the pattern subject + modal verb + infinitive + object + definite noun phrase. The parts combine as “I can send you the new plan.”

8. Det hjælper mig med at tilpasse min tidsplan.

   That helps me adjust my schedule.

   Det

   That

   hjælper

   helps

   mig

   me

   tilpasse

   adjust

   min

   my

   tidsplan

   schedule

   More detail

   Det is the subject and means “that” here. Danish det is a neuter singular pronoun; its specific referent is supplied by context rather than by this sentence alone. It can also be used as a dummy subject in other constructions, so do not assume that every occurrence refers to a concrete thing. hjælper is the present-tense form of hjælpe, “to help.” The pattern hjælpe nogen med at + infinitive means “help someone to do something” or, naturally in English, “help someone do something.” For example: Hun hjælper mig med at læse. — “She helps me read.” mig means “me.” It is the object form of the first-person singular pronoun; compare subject jeg (“I”) with object mig (“me”): Jeg hjælper ham. — “I help him.” tilpasse is the infinitive “to adjust” or “to adapt.” After med at, Danish uses the infinitive: med at tilpasse means “with adjusting” or “to adjust” in this construction. The form tilpasse itself does not show who performs the action; the understood performer is the person represented by mig. min means “my” before a common-gender singular noun. It agrees with the possessed noun, not with the possessor. Here it accompanies tidsplan, so the form is min; Danish uses mit with a neuter singular noun and mine with plural nouns. Example: min bog — “my book,” but mit hus — “my house.” tidsplan means “schedule” or “timetable.” It is a compound noun: tid means “time,” and plan means “plan,” but the established compound refers to a schedule. Its definite form is tidsplanen, “the schedule”; the supplied sentence uses the indefinite form after the possessive min, giving “my schedule.” Taken together, Det hjælper means “That helps,” mig identifies the person helped, and med at tilpasse min tidsplan specifies what the help concerns: adjusting my schedule. The whole utterance therefore means, “That helps me adjust my schedule.”