Suggesting a coffee break | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg mister fokus.

   I am losing focus.

   Jeg

   I

   mister

   am losing

   fokus

   focus

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: it is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It does not mark the speaker’s gender. Example: Jeg læser. — “I am reading.” mister is the present-tense form of miste, “to lose.” Danish present tense does not by itself create an English-style progressive form; here, the fixed translation presents the current situation as “am losing.” Useful forms are miste (infinitive), mister (present), and mistede (past). Example: Jeg mister min nøgle. — “I lose my key.” fokus means “focus.” It is commonly used as a neuter noun, as in et fokus. In mister fokus, the bare noun refers to focus as an abstract matter rather than introducing a separately specified countable item. Example: Hun holder fokus. — “She keeps her focus.” Together, Jeg mister fokus is a subject–verb–object sentence: “I am losing focus.” Jeg identifies the subject, mister describes the loss, and fokus identifies what is being lost.

2. Lad os gå væk og hente kaffe.

   Let's step away and get coffee.

   Lad os

   let's

   gå væk

   step away

   hente

   get

   kaffe

   coffee

   More detail

   Lad os is the Danish construction for “let’s”: lad is the imperative of lade (“let/allow”), and os means “us.” Together, followed by an infinitive, it proposes that the speaker and others do something. Example: Lad os vente. — “Let’s wait.” gå væk means “step away” here. gå is the infinitive of “go/walk,” while væk adds the idea of moving away from the current place or situation. The two words form a useful directional combination; gå alone can simply mean “go” or “walk.” Example: Hun går væk. — “She walks away.” hente is the infinitive meaning “get” in the sense of going to obtain or fetch something. After lad os, Danish uses the infinitive without an English-style “to”: Lad os hente ... — “Let’s get ...” Example: Jeg går ud for at hente vand. — “I’m going out to get water.” kaffe means “coffee.” It is commonly used without an article when referring to coffee as a drink or an unspecified amount: Jeg vil have kaffe. — “I want coffee.” A specific serving can be expressed differently depending on the intended amount, for example en kaffe can mean “a coffee” in an appropriate ordering context. The sentence combines the proposal Lad os with two coordinated infinitive actions: gå væk and hente kaffe. Its meaning is therefore “Let’s step away and get coffee.”

3. En kort pause lyder nyttig.

   A short break sounds helpful.

   En

   a/an

   kort

   short

   pause

   break

   lyder

   sounds

   nyttig

   helpful

   More detail

   En is the Danish indefinite article used with a common-gender singular noun. Here it introduces pause; it does not by itself state a numerical count. Danish also has et for neuter singular nouns. kort means “short” here and describes pause. Its base form is kort. With this common-gender singular noun, the adjective is kort; the neuter singular form is also kort, while plural and definite forms are commonly korte. Example: en kort tur means “a short trip.” pause is a noun meaning “break” or “pause.” Its common-gender singular form is en pause; its indefinite plural is pauser. Example: Vi tager en pause. means “We are taking a break.” lyder is the present-tense form of lyde, “to sound.” In this sentence it is the form used with the singular subject En kort pause. The pattern X lyder + adjective expresses an impression: Det lyder godt. means “That sounds good.” nyttig means “helpful” or “useful” here. It is the common-gender singular form of the adjective; nyttigt is used with a neuter singular noun, and nyttige with plural or definite noun phrases. Example: Rådet er nyttigt. means “The advice is helpful.” Together, En kort pause is the subject, and lyder nyttig says that this break sounds helpful. The whole utterance therefore means “A short break sounds helpful.”

4. Vi kan strække os, før vi sætter os igen.

   We can stretch before we sit down again.

   Vi kan

   we can

   strække os

   stretch ourselves

   før

   before

   sætter os

   sit down

   igen

   again

   More detail

   Vi kan means “we can.” vi is the first-person plural pronoun, “we.” kan is the present form of kunne, “can/be able to,” and it is used here for present ability or possibility. After kan, Danish uses the infinitive without at: Vi kan strække os = “We can stretch.” strække os means “stretch ourselves.” strække is the infinitive of strække, “stretch,” and os is the first-person plural object/reflexive pronoun, referring back to vi. The expression strække sig is the reusable reflexive pattern for stretching oneself; with vi, the reflexive form is os. Example: De strækker sig. — “They stretch.” før introduces an event that happens earlier than another event: “before.” It is followed here by the clause vi sætter os igen, so the stretching comes first and the sitting down comes afterward. Example: Ring, før du går. — “Call before you leave.” sætter os means “sit down.” sætter is the present form of sætte, “put/set,” while sætte sig is the reflexive construction meaning “sit down.” With the subject vi, sig becomes os: vi sætter os. The form sætter is present tense; it does not by itself express past time. Example: Vi sætter os her. — “We sit down here.” igen means “again,” showing that the sitting down is repeated or happens another time. It modifies the event sætter os, not the stretching. Together, Vi kan strække os states that the group has the ability or opportunity to stretch. før vi sætter os igen places the repeated sitting down after that stretching. The whole utterance therefore means: “We can stretch before we sit down again.”

5. Skal vi gå tilbage til rapporten efter kaffen?

   Should we return to the report after coffee?

   Skal vi

   should we

   gå

   go

   til

   to

   rapporten

   the report

   efter

   after

   kaffen

   the coffee

   More detail

   Skal vi is a reusable way to ask whether the speaker and the listener should do something: “Should we …?” Here, skal is the present form of skulle, used with vi to make a suggestion or proposal. The following verb stays in the infinitive. Example: Skal vi spise nu? — “Should we eat now?” gå means “go” here. After skal vi, it is the infinitive form; the surrounding expression gå tilbage means “go back” or “return.” The form gå is also used with other subjects in some present-tense constructions, but the subject and context determine the meaning. Example: Vi skal gå hjem. — “We should go home.” til introduces the destination or goal: “to.” In gå til rapporten, it connects the movement back to the report. The word til is not the same as på, which can express being at or working on something in other contexts. rapporten means “the report.” The base noun is rapport; the ending -en marks the common-gender definite singular form, corresponding here to “the report.” The ending belongs to the noun, not to til. Example: Jeg læser rapporten. — “I am reading the report.” efter means “after” and introduces what comes later in time. Here it places returning to the report after the coffee. It can also introduce a later event, as in efter mødet — “after the meeting.” kaffen means “the coffee.” The base noun is kaffe, and -en marks its definite singular form. In this sentence, efter kaffen naturally means “after coffee” or “after having coffee”; the definite form reflects the Danish noun form rather than an asserted numerical quantity. Together, Skal vi asks for a joint proposal, gå tilbage means “return,” til rapporten gives the destination, and efter kaffen gives the time. The whole utterance therefore means: “Should we return to the report after coffee?”

6. Så kan vi gøre næste del færdig.

   We can finish the next part then.

   Så

   then

   kan vi

   we can

   gøre

   do; make

   næste

   next

   del

   part

   færdig

   finished; done

   More detail

   Så means “then” here: it links this action to what has just been discussed or completed. At the beginning of a main clause, it occupies the first position. kan vi means “we can.” kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can, be able to”) and does not change for person or number: jeg kan, vi kan, de kan. Danish places the finite verb before the subject when another element, such as Så, comes first: Så kan vi .... gøre is the infinitive of gøre (“do, make”). After the modal kan, Danish uses the infinitive: vi kan gøre. In this sentence, gøre ... færdig is the useful pattern meaning “finish something,” literally “make something finished.” Other forms include gør (present), gjorde (past), and gjort (past participle). næste means “next.” It is an adjective modifying del; the form here is used with the singular common-gender noun del. A useful contrast is første (“first”): den næste del means “the next part,” while den første del means “the first part.” del means “part” or “section.” Its indefinite singular is en del, and its plural is dele. In this utterance, del is the singular object of gøre and is specified by næste. færdig means “finished” or “done.” In gøre ... færdig, it describes the object that is brought to completion. Because del is singular common gender, the form is færdig; compare gøre et projekt færdigt (“finish a project”), where the neuter noun requires færdigt. The plural form is færdige, as in gøre opgaverne færdige (“finish the assignments”). Together, Så kan vi + gøre næste del færdig gives “Then we can finish the next part.” The construction expresses ability or possibility (kan) and an action that brings the next part to completion (gøre ... færdig).

7. Jeg gemmer filen, før vi går.

   I will save the file before we leave.

   Jeg

   I

   gemmer

   save

   filen

   the file

   før

   before

   vi

   we

   går

   leave

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the person who will save the file. Danish uses jeg regardless of the speaker’s gender. gemmer is the present-tense form of gemme, “to save” or “to store.” The present tense can refer to a future action when the time is clear from context, so here Jeg gemmer corresponds to “I will save” rather than necessarily “I am saving right now.” Example: Jeg gemmer billedet. — “I save the picture.” filen means “the file.” Its base noun is fil; the ending -en marks the definite singular form, “the file.” Example: Jeg åbner filen. — “I open the file.” før means “before” and introduces the event that must happen later than the main action. A reusable pattern is før + subject + verb: Ring, før du går. — “Call before you leave.” vi means “we,” the first-person plural subject pronoun. It refers to the speaker together with at least one other person, but the fixed sentence does not specify who the other person or people are. går is the present-tense form of gå, “to go.” In this sentence, the intended meaning is “leave,” as shown by the fixed translation. Example: Vi går nu. — “We are leaving now.” Together, Jeg gemmer filen gives “I will save the file,” and før vi går adds the time relation “before we leave.” The whole utterance therefore means: “I will save the file before we leave.” Danish uses present-tense forms in both clauses here; the context gives the future reading.

8. Gem den nu, så vi ikke mister noget.

   Save it now, so we do not lose anything.

   Gem

   save

   den

   it

   nu

   now

   så

   so

   vi

   we

   ikke

   not

   mister

   lose

   noget

   anything

   More detail

   Gem is the imperative of gemme, “to save” or “to keep.” The imperative gives a direct instruction and normally has no stated subject. Example: Gem bogen. — “Save the book.” den means “it” here. It is the singular common-gender object pronoun; its specific referent is supplied by the situation, not identified within this sentence. Danish also uses det for a singular neuter referent. Example: Jeg gemmer den. — “I save it.” nu means “now” and places the saving at the present time. Example: Kom nu. — “Come now.” så introduces the intended result or purpose here: “so that.” In the pattern så ..., the following clause states what the instruction is meant to achieve. vi is the first-person plural pronoun, “we.” It refers to the speaker together with at least one other person. Example: Vi går nu. — “We are leaving now.” ikke is the ordinary negation word, “not.” In så vi ikke mister ..., it negates the verb phrase mister. mister is the present-tense form of miste, “to lose.” Danish present tense does not change for person or number: jeg mister, vi mister, and de mister all use mister. Example: Vi mister tiden. — “We lose track of time.” noget means “something”; after negation, as in ikke mister noget, it is naturally translated “anything.” This is an indefinite pronoun, not a specific named object. Example: Jeg ser ikke noget. — “I do not see anything.” Together, Gem den nu means “Save it now.” så vi ikke mister noget adds the purpose: “so that we do not lose anything.” The complete utterance is therefore an instruction to save the unspecified singular common-gender item immediately, with the stated aim that the speaker and others will not lose anything. The word order så vi ikke mister noget places ikke before the finite verb mister, a common pattern in this subordinate clause.