Being locked out and asking for help | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg er låst ude af min lejlighed.

   I am locked out of my apartment.

   Jeg er

   I am

   låst ude

   locked out

   min

   my

   lejlighed

   apartment

   More detail

   Jeg er means “I am.” Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”; it does not change for grammatical gender. er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”), used with jeg and also with other singular and plural subjects in the present: jeg er, du er, de er. låst ude means “locked out.” låst is the form of låse (“to lock”) used here as a past participle/adjectival form, and ude means “out.” Together, være låst ude is the reusable pattern for being unable to enter because one is locked outside. For example: Hun er låst ude. — “She is locked out.” min means “my” before a singular common-gender noun. Its form agrees with the possessed noun, not with the possessor: min with an en-word, mit with an et-word, and mine with plural nouns. Here it belongs with lejlighed, which is an en-word. For example: min nøgle — “my key.” lejlighed means “apartment.” Its indefinite form is en lejlighed, and its definite form is lejligheden (“the apartment”). The preposition af connects the state to the place or possession involved: låst ude af min lejlighed means “locked out of my apartment.” Putting the parts together, Jeg er låst ude af min lejlighed. says that the speaker is currently outside and cannot get into their apartment: “I am locked out of my apartment.”

2. Har du en ekstra nøgle et sted?

   Do you have a spare key somewhere?

   Har du

   Do you have …?

   ekstra

   spare; extra

   nøgle

   key

   et sted

   somewhere

   More detail

   Har du is the Danish present-tense question pattern for asking whether someone has something: har is the present form of have (“to have”), and it is used with all persons. The order Har du ...? places the verb before the subject, as is normal in a direct yes/no question. Example: Har du tid? — “Do you have time?” ekstra means “extra” here, with the useful sense “spare” when there is an additional item available for use. It is an adjective, and this form does not change for the noun’s gender or number in this use. Example: en ekstra stol — “an extra chair.” nøgle means “key.” The quoted form is singular and indefinite; with the common-gender indefinite article it is en nøgle (“a key”). A useful plural form is nøgler (“keys”), while the definite singular is nøglen (“the key”). et sted means “somewhere” in this sentence. Literally, it contains sted (“place”) with the neuter indefinite article et, but together the phrase works adverbially to indicate an unspecified location. Example: Hun bor et sted i byen. — “She lives somewhere in the city.” Together, Har du asks about possession or availability, en ekstra nøgle means “a spare key,” and et sted adds the idea that its location is unspecified. Thus the complete utterance means: “Do you have a spare key somewhere?”

3. Det har jeg ikke, men min udlejer har måske en.

   I do not, but my landlord may have one.

   Det

   it; that

   har

   have

   jeg

   I

   ikke

   not

   min

   my

   udlejer

   landlord

   måske

   perhaps; maybe

   en

   one

   More detail

   Det is an object pronoun meaning “that” or “it”; here it points to the item being asked about, the spare key. Danish can place this object first for emphasis: Det har jeg ikke. har is the present-tense form of have, “to have.” In Danish, har is used with different subjects in the present: jeg har = “I have,” and hun har = “she has.” jeg means “I.” In the first clause, har jeg has the order “have I” because the object Det has been placed at the front; this is normal Danish main-clause word order after a fronted element. ikke means “not.” Together, har jeg ikke means “I do not have [it].” Danish uses the lexical verb har directly here rather than an English-style auxiliary equivalent to “do.” min means “my” before a singular common-gender noun. Compare mit before a singular neuter noun and mine before a plural noun. In this sentence, min belongs to udlejer, not to the omitted item represented by en. udlejer means “landlord.” It is a noun for the person who rents out a home or property. The phrase min udlejer means “my landlord”; min marks the possessive relation and agrees with this singular common-gender noun. måske means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It presents the following possibility as uncertain. It does not itself mean that the landlord definitely has the item. en is a standalone replacement for an understood singular common-gender noun, so here it means “one.” With the supplied context, it refers to a spare key: en avoids repeating nøgle. As an article, en can also occur directly before a common-gender noun, as in en nøgle (“a key”), but here the noun is omitted. The whole utterance is assembled as Det har jeg ikke (“I do not have it”), followed by men (“but”), then min udlejer har måske en (“my landlord may have one”). The result is: “I do not, but my landlord may have one.”

4. Prøv at ringe til udlejeren nu.

   Try calling them now.

   Prøv

   try

   at ringe

   to call

   udlejeren

   the landlord

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Prøv is the imperative of prøve, “to try.” It addresses one or more listeners; Danish imperative forms do not show the subject’s number. In this sentence it introduces a suggestion or instruction. Example: Prøv igen. — “Try again.” at ringe means “to call.” ringe is the infinitive after at; the phrase prøve at + infinitive means “try to …”. Example: Jeg prøver at ringe. — “I am trying to call.” The infinitive is not marked for person or number. udlejeren means “the landlord.” Its base form is udlejer; udlejeren is the definite singular form, formed with the ending -en. The preceding til means “to” here, so ringe til is the reusable pattern “call [someone].” The fixed context identifies this landlord as the person being called. nu means “now” and places the action at the present time. Example: Ring nu. — “Call now.” Together, Prøv at ringe til udlejeren nu means “Try calling the landlord now.” The fixed translation uses “them,” but the supplied context identifies the intended person as the landlord. The utterance is a direct suggestion or instruction to try making that call immediately.

5. Må jeg vente indenfor, mens jeg ringer?

   Could I wait inside while I make the call?

   Må jeg

   May I…?

   vente

   wait

   indenfor

   inside

   mens

   while

   ringer

   call

   More detail

   Må jeg is a polite way to ask for permission: “May I…?” or “Could I…?” Here, må is the modal verb meaning that the speaker is asking whether they are allowed to do something, and jeg is “I.” A reusable pattern is Må jeg + infinitive?, as in Må jeg komme ind? — “May I come in?” vente means “to wait.” It is the infinitive form used after the modal må; Danish does not add an infinitive marker equivalent to English “to” in this construction. For example, Jeg vil vente. means “I want to wait.” indenfor means “inside” or “indoors.” It describes the place where the waiting happens. The spelling indenfor is one written form; Danish can also use the separated form inden for in relevant uses. Here it is an adverb, not a noun naming a particular interior. mens introduces an action happening at the same time as another action: “while.” It connects the waiting with the calling. For example, Læs, mens jeg laver mad. means “Read while I cook.” ringer means “call” or “ring” here. It is the present-tense form of ringe, “to call/ring.” Danish verbs do not change their form for the subject’s person or number, so ringer is not specifically an “I” form. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the intended sense as making a phone call. For example, Jeg ringer senere. means “I’ll call later.” Together, Må jeg vente indenfor asks permission for the speaker to wait inside, and mens jeg ringer adds that this will happen while the speaker makes the call. The whole utterance therefore means: “Could I wait inside while I make the call?”

6. Kom ind og bliv lidt.

   Come in for a while.

   Kom ind

   Come in

   bliv

   stay

   lidt

   for a while

   More detail

   Kom ind is an invitation or command meaning “come in.” Kom is the imperative of komme (“to come”); ind specifies movement inward. Danish commonly forms this kind of direction phrase with an imperative followed by a directional word. Example: Kom ud! — “Come out!” bliv means “stay” here. It is the imperative of blive (“to stay” or, in other contexts, “to become”). The intended sense is determined by the accompanying situation: after inviting someone inside, bliv asks that person not to leave. Example: Bliv her. — “Stay here.” lidt adds a small, unspecified amount. With bliv, it refers to a short period of time, giving “stay for a while.” It can also modify an adjective or another expression in other contexts, but its role here is to limit the duration. Together, Kom ind og bliv lidt. joins two imperatives with og (“and”): “Come in and stay for a while.” The implied subject is the person being addressed, as is normal for these imperative forms. In this context, the invitation offers a brief stay indoors.

7. Det er koldt derude.

   It is cold out there.

   Det er

   it is

   koldt

   cold

   derude

   out there

   More detail

   Det er is a common Danish pattern meaning “it is.” Here det is an impersonal subject in a statement about the weather or conditions, so it does not identify a particular person or object. er is the present form of være (“to be”). Example: Det er sent. — “It is late.” koldt means “cold” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective kold (“cold”), agreeing with the impersonal det in this construction. Compare kold in en kold dag (“a cold day”) with koldt in et koldt rum (“a cold room”). Example: Vandet er koldt. — “The water is cold.” derude means “out there,” referring generally to a place outside or away from the speaker. It is an adverb, so it does not change for number or gender. The related adverb ude means “outside” or “out”; derude adds the pointing sense “there.” Example: Han står derude. — “He is standing out there.” Together, Det er koldt states that the conditions are cold, and derude specifies the location: “out there.” The complete utterance is therefore “It is cold out there.”

8. Jeg vil forklare, hvad der skete, og spørge om nøglen.

   I will explain what happened and ask about the key.

   Jeg vil

   I will

   forklare

   explain

   hvad

   what

   skete

   happened

   spørge om

   ask about

   nøglen

   the key

   More detail

   Jeg vil means “I will” here. Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. vil is the present-tense form of ville, used here as a modal auxiliary for a future intention or plan. After vil, Danish uses the infinitive without at: Jeg vil forklare = “I will explain”. forklare is the infinitive “to explain”. The same form can be reused after other modal auxiliaries, for example: Jeg kan forklare det. — “I can explain it.” hvad introduces the content of what is being explained: “what”. In hvad der skete, it introduces an embedded clause rather than standing alone as a direct question. skete means “happened” here. It is the past-tense form of ske, “to happen”. The construction hvad der skete literally asks for the event that happened; der is part of this Danish clause pattern and does not mean “there” in this use. Example: Jeg ved, hvad der skete. — “I know what happened.” spørge om is a reusable verb-plus-preposition construction meaning “to ask about”. spørge is the infinitive “to ask”, and om selects the topic being asked about. Under vil, it also appears as an infinitive: Jeg vil spørge om ... — “I will ask about ...”. nøglen means “the key” in this sentence. It is the definite singular form of the noun nøgle, “key”; the ending -en marks common-gender definiteness here. The indefinite form is en nøgle (“a key”), while nøglen refers to a specific key understood in the situation. The sentence coordinates two planned actions after the single modal vil: Jeg vil forklare ... og spørge om ... means “I will explain ... and ask about ...”. The first action concerns hvad der skete (“what happened”), and the second concerns nøglen (“the key”). Together, the utterance means: “I will explain what happened and ask about the key.”

9. Sig til, hvis du har brug for noget, mens du venter.

   Tell me if you need anything while you wait.

   Sig til

   let me know

   hvis

   if

   har brug for

   need

   noget

   anything

   mens

   while

   venter

   wait

   More detail

   Sig til means “let me know” in this sentence. Sig is the imperative of sige (“to say/tell”), used to give a direct instruction. Together with til, this is a common Danish construction for asking someone to inform the speaker: Sig til, når du er klar. — “Let me know when you are ready.” hvis introduces a condition: “if.” The clause after it states the condition under which the instruction applies. For example, Ring, hvis du har tid. — “Call if you have time.” har brug for is the fixed Danish construction meaning “need.” Har is the present-tense form of have; brug is a noun in this construction, so the wording is literally based on having use for something. The person who needs something is the subject: Jeg har brug for hjælp. — “I need help.” noget is an indefinite pronoun meaning “something” or, in a negative or conditional context such as this one, “anything.” It does not identify a particular thing: Har du brug for noget? — “Do you need anything?” mens introduces a time clause meaning “while.” It links an action that occurs during the time of another action: Læs, mens du venter. — “Read while you wait.” venter is the present-tense form of vente, “to wait.” The subject here is du (“you”), which appears explicitly in du venter; the present tense describes the waiting period. Jeg venter means “I am waiting,” while du venter means “you are waiting.” Together, Sig til gives the instruction “let me know”; hvis du har brug for noget specifies the condition “if you need anything”; and mens du venter specifies the time “while you wait.” The whole utterance therefore means: “Tell me if you need anything while you wait.”