Feeling tired at work | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg har meget arbejde i dag.

   I have a lot of work today.

   Jeg

   I

   har

   have

   meget

   a lot of

   arbejde

   work

   i dag

   today

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: it is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It does not change for the speaker’s gender. Example: Jeg arbejder. — “I work.” har is the present-tense form of have, “to have.” In this sentence it expresses possession or a current situation: the speaker has work. Example: Jeg har tid. — “I have time.” meget means “a lot of” here and describes the amount of arbejde. Danish uses meget with an uncountable or mass meaning, while mange is used with plural countable nouns. Compare: meget arbejde — “a lot of work”; mange opgaver — “many tasks.” arbejde is the noun “work.” It can refer to work in general or to work that someone has to do. In meget arbejde, it has a mass meaning, so no indefinite article is used. Example: Jeg har arbejde. — “I have work.” i dag is the time expression “today.” It is a fixed phrase consisting of the preposition i and the noun dag (“day”). Example: Jeg arbejder i dag. — “I am working today.” Together, Jeg har gives “I have,” meget arbejde gives “a lot of work,” and i dag specifies the time. The complete meaning is: “I have a lot of work today.”

2. Du ser træt ud, så tag en pause.

   You look tired, so take a break.

   Du

   you

   ser … ud

   look / seem

   træt

   tired

   så

   so

   tag

   take

   pause

   break

   More detail

   Du means “you” here. It is the second-person singular pronoun, used for addressing one person directly. Example: Du er klar. — “You are ready.” ser ud is the Danish construction for “look/seem” when describing how someone or something appears. The verb ser is the present form of se (“to see”), but in se ... ud, the combined construction describes appearance rather than ordinary seeing. Example: Det ser godt ud. — “It looks good.” træt means “tired” here. It is a descriptive adjective. In this sentence it describes Du through the construction ser træt ud: the person appears tired. Example: Jeg er træt. — “I am tired.” så connects the observation with its consequence and means “so” in this sentence. It introduces the recommendation that follows. Example: Det regner, så vi bliver hjemme. — “It is raining, so we are staying home.” tag is the imperative form of tage (“to take”). It directly addresses Du and gives a recommendation or instruction. The imperative is commonly formed without the subject pronoun: Tag en pause. — “Take a break.” pause is the noun “break,” meaning a period of rest from an activity. In the utterance it appears in the noun phrase en pause; pause itself is the noun, while en is the accompanying indefinite article. Example: Vi tager en pause. — “We are taking a break.” Together, Du ser træt ud means “You look tired.” Then så links that observation to tag en pause, an imperative meaning “take a break.” The complete utterance therefore means: “You look tired, so take a break.”

3. Jeg er bekymret, fordi deadline nærmer sig.

   I'm worried because the deadline is approaching.

   Jeg er

   I am

   bekymret

   worried

   fordi

   because

   deadline

   deadline

   nærmer sig

   is approaching

   More detail

   Jeg er is the reusable pattern “I am.” er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”); it is also used with other subjects, as in Hun er klar (“She is ready”). The subject Jeg identifies the speaker, and the verb agrees with that subject through the sentence pattern rather than through a special first-person form. bekymret is an adjective meaning worried or concerned here. It is the predicate adjective after er: Jeg er bekymret means “I am worried.” Its base form is bekymret; with a plural or definite noun, the related form is commonly bekymrede, as in de bekymrede forældre (“the worried parents”). fordi introduces the reason for the statement and corresponds to “because.” It begins a subordinate clause: fordi ... gives the cause of what was just said. For example, Jeg bliver hjemme, fordi jeg er syg means “I am staying home because I am ill.” deadline is a noun meaning a deadline: the time by which something must be finished. It is a Danish loanword used in work and study contexts. In this sentence it is the subject of the clause introduced by fordi. nærmer sig means “is approaching” here. The underlying verb is nærme sig, literally a reflexive construction meaning “approach” or “move closer.” nærmer is its present-tense form, while sig is the reflexive pronoun used with a third-person subject. The construction can describe a time limit as it gets closer: Eksamen nærmer sig means “The exam is approaching.” Together, Jeg er bekymret states the speaker’s feeling, and fordi deadline nærmer sig gives its reason. The whole utterance therefore means “I’m worried because the deadline is approaching.”

4. Hvis du går væk et øjeblik, kan du arbejde bedre bagefter.

   Stepping away can help you work better afterward.

   Hvis

   if

   går væk

   step away

   øjeblik

   moment

   kan du

   you can

   arbejde

   work

   bedre

   better

   bagefter

   afterward

   More detail

   Hvis introduces a condition: “if.” It starts a conditional clause, and the clause that follows describes what must happen for the main-clause result to apply. Example: Hvis du har tid, kan vi tale. — “If you have time, we can talk.” går væk means “goes/steps away” here. The verb is the present-tense form går of gå (“to go”); gå væk is the reusable verb-plus-particle pattern “go away” or “step away.” The form går is used with du in the present; it is not the infinitive. Example: Jeg går væk et øjeblik. — “I’m stepping away for a moment.” øjeblik is the noun “moment.” In the source, et øjeblik means “a moment”; et is the indefinite article used with this neuter noun. The article does not by itself assert a numerical count; the phrase simply gives a short period of time. Example: Vent et øjeblik. — “Wait a moment.” kan du combines the modal verb kan (“can/be able to”) with the subject pronoun du (“you”). After kan, the next verb normally appears in the infinitive without at, as in kan arbejde (“can work”). Because the conditional clause comes first, the main clause begins with the finite modal before the subject: kan du .... Example: Kan du hjælpe? — “Can you help?” arbejde means “work.” Here it is the infinitive after the modal kan; the modal expresses ability or a possible result, rather than marking arbejde for person or number. Example: Jeg vil arbejde. — “I want to work.” bedre means “better.” It is the comparative form related to godt (“well” or “good,” depending on its use); the corresponding superlative is bedst (“best”). Here bedre describes the quality of working after the person steps away. Example: Hun sover bedre nu. — “She sleeps better now.” bagefter means “afterward” or “after that.” It is an adverb referring to a later time, here after the brief step away. Example: Vi spiser bagefter. — “We’ll eat afterward.” Together, Hvis du går væk et øjeblik gives the condition “if you step away for a moment.” kan du arbejde bedre bagefter gives the result “you can work better afterward.” The whole utterance therefore means: “If you step away for a moment, you can work better afterward.”

5. Måske skulle jeg hvile øjnene i et minut.

   Maybe I should rest my eyes for a minute.

   Måske

   maybe

   skulle jeg

   I should

   hvile

   rest

   øjnene

   the eyes

   i et minut

   for a minute

   More detail

   Måske means “maybe” here and makes the suggestion uncertain rather than definite. It commonly comes before the clause it qualifies. Example: Måske kommer hun senere. — “Maybe she will come later.” skulle jeg combines the modal verb skulle with the subject pronoun jeg (“I”). Here, skulle is the past-tense form used in a tentative modal construction, giving the meaning “should” rather than describing a completed past event. The order skulle jeg places the modal before the subject; with Måske at the beginning, this is normal Danish clause order. Compare Jeg skal hvile — “I have to / am going to rest” — with Jeg skulle hvile — “I should rest” or, in another context, “I was supposed to rest.” hvile is the infinitive “to rest.” It follows the modal skulle without an infinitive marker. The useful pattern is skulle + infinitive: Du skulle hvile. — “You should rest.” øjnene means “the eyes.” Its base form is øje (“eye”); the plural is øjne, and the definite plural is øjnene. In hvile øjnene, Danish uses the definite plural in the natural expression “rest one’s eyes.” The form øjnene itself does not identify whose eyes they are; here the intended owner is understood from the subject jeg, so the meaning is “rest my eyes.” i et minut expresses a duration: “for a minute.” minut is a neuter noun, so the indefinite article is et. The phrase specifies how long the resting is intended to continue. Example: Læs i fem minutter. — “Read for five minutes.” Together, Måske makes the suggestion tentative, skulle jeg hvile says “I should rest,” øjnene specifies that the eyes are being rested, and i et minut gives the duration. The complete meaning is: “Maybe I should rest my eyes for a minute.”

6. Drik vand, og træk vejret langsomt i et minut.

   Drink water and breathe slowly for a minute.

   Drik

   drink

   vand

   water

   træk vejret

   breathe

   langsomt

   slowly

   minut

   minute

   More detail

   Drik means “drink” here and is the imperative of drikke (“to drink”). It gives a direct instruction; this imperative form does not itself mark whether one or more people are addressed. Compare drikke (“to drink”) with drik! (“drink!”). vand means “water.” Danish commonly uses this noun without an indefinite article when referring to water as a substance. Example: Jeg drikker vand. — “I drink water.” træk vejret is the Danish expression for “breathe.” Træk is the imperative of trække (“to pull/draw”), but the two words should be learned together here rather than translated word by word. Example: Træk vejret dybt. — “Breathe deeply.” langsomt means “slowly” here. It is the adverbial form related to the adjective langsom (“slow”); the -t form describes how the breathing happens. Example: Gå langsomt. — “Walk slowly.” minut means “minute.” With the preceding i et, the phrase i et minut means “for a minute.” Et is the neuter indefinite article agreeing with minut; it is not by itself a general way to state a numerical quantity. Example: Vent i et minut. — “Wait for a minute.” Together, Drik vand gives the first imperative, “Drink water.” Og connects it to the second imperative, træk vejret langsomt, “breathe slowly.” The duration phrase i et minut applies to that breathing instruction, producing: “Drink water and breathe slowly for a minute.”

7. Så kan jeg gøre det sidste afsnit færdigt.

   Then I can finish the last section.

   Så

   then

   kan jeg

   I can

   gøre

   do; make

   sidste

   last

   afsnit

   section

   færdigt

   finished; complete

   More detail

   Så means “then” here: it links the sentence to the next step in the sequence. Danish så can have other uses, including “so,” but the fixed translation supports the sequential meaning here. kan jeg places the modal kan before the subject jeg. kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can/be able to”); it does not change for the subject in the present tense. After kan, Danish uses an infinitive: Jeg kan hjælpe. — “I can help.” The initial Så is a fronted element, so the main clause has the order Så kan jeg .... gøre is the infinitive of gøre, meaning “do” or “make.” After the modal kan, it stays in the infinitive. In this sentence, gøre combines with færdigt to express bringing something to completion rather than simply performing an unspecified action. Example: Jeg vil gøre det. — “I will do it.” sidste is the adjective “last” or “final.” Here it identifies the section that comes last in the relevant order. Danish uses the same visible form in combinations such as den sidste, det sidste, and de sidste; the surrounding noun phrase supplies the grammatical information rather than a change visible in sidste itself. afsnit is a neuter noun meaning “section.” In det sidste afsnit, det and the noun phrase’s form show that the intended noun phrase is singular and neuter; the noun form afsnit itself has no visible ending here. The definite noun phrase means “the section,” not an unspecified section. færdigt is the neuter singular form of the adjective færdig, “finished” or “complete.” It agrees with the object afsnit: afsnit is neuter singular, so the adjective has -t. This is the adjective’s form; afsnit is not its base form. Compare the reusable pattern gøre noget færdigt — “finish something.” For example, Jeg gør arbejdet færdigt. — “I finish the work”; arbejdet is neuter singular, so færdigt agrees with it. Another example is Jeg gør afsnittet færdigt. — “I finish the section”; afsnittet is also neuter singular. Together, det sidste afsnit means “the last section,” and gøre ... færdigt means “finish ...”. Thus Så kan jeg gøre det sidste afsnit færdigt. means “Then I can finish the last section.”

8. Jeg gennemgår udkastet, mens du hviler.

   I will review the draft while you rest.

   Jeg

   I

   gennemgår

   review / go through

   udkastet

   the draft

   mens

   while

   du

   you

   hviler

   rest

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the subject form used for the speaker. Danish subject pronouns include jeg “I,” du “you” for one person, and vi “we.” Example: Jeg hviler. — “I am resting.” gennemgår means “review” or “go through” here. Its base form is gennemgå; gennemgår is the present-tense form. The verb can describe examining something systematically, not merely looking at it. Example: Jeg gennemgår planen. — “I review the plan.” udkastet means “the draft.” The indefinite form is et udkast “a draft,” and the definite singular form is udkastet “the draft.” The ending -et marks definiteness here; it is part of the noun form, not a separate word. Example: Jeg læser udkastet. — “I read the draft.” mens introduces an event occurring at the same time as another event; here it means “while.” It links the main clause to the subordinate clause du hviler. Example: Hun læser, mens han laver mad. — “She reads while he cooks.” du means “you” when addressing one person and functions as the subject of the subordinate clause. It is distinct from dig, which is used for the object in relevant contexts. Example: Du læser. — “You read.” hviler means “rest” here. Its base form is hvile, and hviler is the present-tense form. In this sentence, the present form describes the resting happening during the reviewing. Example: Du hviler efter arbejdet. — “You rest after work.” Together, Jeg gennemgår udkastet means “I review the draft,” and mens du hviler means “while you rest.” Danish present tense can refer to a planned or expected future event when the context makes that timing clear; accordingly, the whole utterance is naturally translated as “I will review the draft while you rest.”