Choosing an Activity Based on the Weather | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Skal vi lave noget indendørs eller udendørs i morgen?

   Should we do something indoors or outdoors tomorrow?

   Skal vi

   Should we

   lave

   do; make

   noget

   something

   indendørs

   indoors

   eller

   or

   udendørs

   outdoors

   i morgen

   tomorrow

   More detail

   Skal vi is a reusable way to ask about a proposed action involving “we.” skal is the present form of skulle; with vi and an infinitive, it can express a suggestion such as “should we …?” In a question, Danish places skal before the subject vi: Skal vi ...? Compare the same suggestion as a statement: Vi skal ... (“We should/will ...”), with the exact English meaning depending on context. lave means “do” here, in the broad sense of carrying out an activity. Its base form is lave, and it is an infinitive after the modal skal; Danish does not add an infinitive marker equivalent to English “to” in this construction. lave can also mean “make” when the object is something produced, but the fixed sentence uses the activity-related sense. noget means “something.” It is an indefinite pronoun referring generally to an unspecified thing or activity; the sentence does not identify what the activity will be. A useful contrast is noget (“something”) versus ikke noget (“nothing”) when negation is present. indendørs means “indoors.” It is an adverb describing where the proposed activity would take place, rather than a noun naming a particular indoor place. For example, Vi spiser indendørs. means “We eat indoors.” eller connects alternatives and means “or.” Here it links the two possible location choices indendørs and udendørs; it does not itself indicate that either choice has been made. udendørs means “outdoors.” Like indendørs, it is an adverb of location. The pair indendørs eller udendørs is a reusable way to present an indoor-versus-outdoor alternative. i morgen is the time expression “tomorrow.” It places the proposed activity on the day after today. It is a fixed prepositional expression: i is not being translated separately as a literal location here. For example, Vi rejser i morgen. means “We are travelling tomorrow.” Together, Skal vi lave noget asks whether the group should carry out some unspecified activity. indendørs eller udendørs supplies two alternative locations for that activity, and i morgen specifies the time. The complete meaning is therefore “Should we do something indoors or outdoors tomorrow?”

2. Tjek vejrudsigten, før vi beslutter os.

   Check the forecast before we decide.

   Tjek

   check

   vejrudsigten

   the weather forecast

   før

   before

   beslutter os

   decide

   More detail

   Tjek is the imperative of tjekke, meaning “check.” The imperative gives a direct instruction and normally has no stated subject: Tjek vejrudsigten. = “Check the forecast.” vejrudsigten means “the weather forecast.” It is a definite noun form: vejr means “weather,” and udsigt can mean “outlook” or “forecast”; here they form the compound vejrudsigt, “weather forecast,” with the definite ending in vejrudsigten. The definite form refers to the relevant forecast rather than asserting a number of forecasts. før means “before” and introduces a clause describing an action that happens earlier. A useful pattern is før + clause: Læs det, før du svarer. = “Read it before you answer.” beslutter os means “decide” in this sentence. beslutter is the present-tense form of beslutte, “decide,” and os is the reflexive object referring back to the subject vi, “we.” Danish commonly uses the reflexive construction beslutte sig for “decide”: jeg beslutter mig, du beslutter dig, vi beslutter os. The form beslutter itself shows present tense, not person or number; the subject vi supplies the meaning “we decide.” Together, Tjek vejrudsigten gives the instruction “Check the forecast.” The clause før vi beslutter os means “before we decide,” with vi as the people making the decision and os referring back to them. The complete utterance is therefore: “Check the forecast before we decide.”

3. Der står, at der bliver sol om morgenen.

   It says the morning will be sunny.

   Der står

   it says

   bliver

   becomes; will be

   sol

   sun

   om morgenen

   in the morning

   More detail

   Der står is a fixed impersonal way to say that something is written or stated: “it says” or “it reads.” Here der does not identify a person or object; it is part of the construction. står is the present form of stå (“stand”), but in this expression it means that the written information states something. Compare Der står, at ... (“It says that ...”) with Der står et navn. (“There is a name written there.”) bliver is the present form of blive. Its basic meaning is “become,” but with a weather expression such as der bliver sol, it describes the coming weather: the weather will become sunny or there will be sunshine. Danish present forms can refer to a future event when the context makes the future time clear, as it does in this forecast. blive can also be used for a change in another description, for example: Det bliver koldt. — “It will become cold.” sol is the noun “sun” or “sunshine.” In der bliver sol, it is part of the weather expression and refers to sunny conditions, matching the fixed translation “will be sunny,” rather than asserting that a visible sun is itself becoming something. om morgenen is a time expression meaning “in the morning.” morgenen is the definite form of morgen (“morning”); the phrase uses om to mark the relevant time period. For another time period, Danish can use the same pattern, for example om aftenen — “in the evening.” Together, Der står, at ... introduces the information found in the forecast. The clause der bliver sol om morgenen says that sunny weather is expected during the morning. The whole utterance therefore means: “It says the morning will be sunny.”

4. Så kunne vi gå en tur før frokost.

   Then we could take a walk before lunch.

   Så

   then

   kunne vi

   we could

   gå

   walk

   en tur

   a walk

   før

   before

   frokost

   lunch

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links this suggestion to the situation already under discussion. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, but “then” is the relevant meaning here. kunne vi contains kunne, the past form of kan, plus vi, “we.” With an infinitive, kunne expresses possibility or a suggestion viewed as possible: Vi kunne gå = “We could go/walk.” Danish uses the infinitive after this modal without an extra particle. Because Så is placed first, kunne comes before the subject vi; this is the usual verb-second pattern in a main clause after an initial element. gå is the infinitive of går and can mean “go” or “walk.” In this utterance, together with en tur, it means “take a walk,” not simply travel to a destination. Example: Vi går hjem. — “We are walking/going home.” en tur is a noun phrase meaning “a walk” in this construction. tur is a common-gender noun, so its indefinite singular form is introduced by en. The same noun can mean a trip or outing in other contexts; the verb phrase gå en tur gives it the walking sense here. Example: Hun går en tur. — “She is taking a walk.” før means “before” and introduces the event or time that follows it. It can connect one activity with an earlier time: før frokost = “before lunch.” Example: Vi mødes før middag. — “We meet before dinner.” frokost means “lunch.” It appears without an article here because the phrase refers to the meal as a time reference, “before lunch.” This does not assert a particular quantity or number of lunches. Together, Så (“then”) + kunne vi (“we could”) + gå en tur (“take a walk”) + før frokost (“before lunch”) produces: “Then we could take a walk before lunch.” The sentence presents taking a walk as a possible suggestion for the group referred to by vi, with the walk scheduled earlier than lunch.

5. Hvis det regner senere, kan vi tage på café.

   If it rains later, we can visit a cafe.

   Hvis

   if

   regner

   rains

   senere

   later

   kan vi

   we can

   tage

   go / take

   café

   cafe

   More detail

   Hvis introduces a condition: “if …”. It is reusable before a clause that states the condition. Example: Hvis du har tid, kan vi spise. — “If you have time, we can eat.” regner means “rains” here. Its base form is regne; regner is the present-tense form used in the weather expression det regner (“it is raining”). Danish uses det as the grammatical subject in this type of weather statement; it does not identify a person or object. senere means “later”, referring here to a later time. It can also be used independently: Vi ses senere. — “See you later.” kan vi means “we can”. kan is the present form of kunne and expresses ability or possibility here; vi is the first-person plural pronoun “we”. Because the conditional clause comes first, the main clause has the order kan vi ..., with the verb before the subject. Compare Vi kan tage af sted. — “We can leave.” tage means “take” in its basic form, but in tage på café the combination means “go to a cafe”. After the modal kan, Danish uses the infinitive tage, not a present-tense form. The same verb has other uses, such as tage bussen (“take the bus”), so its meaning is determined by the construction around it. café is the noun “cafe”. In på café, på plus the noun forms a destination expression meaning “to a cafe” in this context. The accented spelling café is part of the observed word. Together, Hvis det regner senere gives the condition “if it rains later”. kan vi tage på café gives the possible action “we can go to a cafe”. The whole utterance therefore means: “If it rains later, we can visit a cafe.”

6. Så holder vi planen fleksibel.

   That keeps the plan flexible.

   Så

   that way; so

   holder

   keeps; holds

   planen

   the plan

   fleksibel

   flexible

   More detail

   Så means “that way” or “so” here, expressing the result or consequence of what has just been discussed. It appears first, and Danish main clauses normally keep the finite verb in second position after an initial adverb: Så holder vi .... holder is the present-tense form of holde, “to keep” or “to hold.” Here it means “keeps”: vi is the subject, and the sentence presents the plan as remaining in a particular state. Example: Vi holder døren åben. — “We keep the door open.” planen means “the plan.” Its base form is plan; planen is the definite singular form: en plan → planen. The noun is the thing whose state is maintained. fleksibel means “flexible.” It is a predicate adjective describing planen after holder. With a singular common-gender noun in this use, the adjective has the basic form, as in Planen er fleksibel. — “The plan is flexible.” Compare the attributive pattern den fleksible plan — “the flexible plan,” where the adjective has a different form. Together, holder ... fleksibel means “keeps ... flexible”: it presents the plan as being maintained in a flexible state. With the initial Så, the whole utterance means “That keeps the plan flexible.” Its structure is Så + finite verb holder + subject vi + object planen + describing adjective fleksibel.

7. Lad os planlægge en gåtur om morgenen.

   Let's plan on a morning walk.

   Lad os

   let's

   planlægge

   plan

   gåtur

   walk

   om morgenen

   in the morning

   More detail

   Lad os is the Danish pattern for “let’s,” used to suggest that the speaker and the addressee do something together. Lad is the imperative of lade (“let”); with os (“us”), it introduces the action. The following verb stays in the infinitive: Lad os vente means “Let’s wait.” planlægge means “to plan” here. It is the infinitive form, required after Lad os. Its present-tense form is planlægger: Vi planlægger en tur means “We are planning a trip.” gåtur is a noun meaning “walk” or “walking trip.” It is a compound formed from gå (“walk/go”) and tur (“trip”); the compound is treated as one noun. The indefinite article en marks this as an indefinite common-gender noun phrase; it does not by itself state a numerical count. The definite form is gåturen, “the walk.” om morgenen means “in the morning.” morgenen is the definite form of morgen (“morning”), and the preposition om is used here for a time period. Compare om aftenen, “in the evening.” Together, Lad os planlægge proposes a shared action, en gåtur identifies what is to be planned, and om morgenen specifies when the walk is intended to take place. The whole utterance therefore means: “Let’s plan a walk in the morning.”

8. Vi kan gå indenfor, hvis vejret ændrer sig.

   We can move indoors if the weather changes.

   Vi kan

   we can

   gå

   go

   indenfor

   indoors

   hvis

   if

   vejret

   the weather

   ændrer sig

   changes

   More detail

   Vi kan means “we can.” Vi is the first-person plural pronoun “we”; unlike singular jeg (“I”), it includes the speaker and at least one other participant. Kan is the present form of kunne (“can, be able to”). Together, vi kan introduces ability or possibility; the following verb stays in the infinitive: Vi kan gå = “We can go.” gå means “go” or “walk.” It is the infinitive after the modal verb kan. The same verb can describe moving on foot or going somewhere more generally, depending on context. Example: Jeg går hjem. — “I am going home.” indenfor means “indoors” or “inside.” It functions as a place adverb and tells where the movement leads. Example: Kom indenfor! — “Come inside!” hvis means “if.” It introduces a condition: the main clause presents what can happen, and the hvis clause states the condition for it. A reusable pattern is ..., hvis ... = “..., if ...”. vejret means “the weather.” The noun’s base form is vejr; vejret is its definite singular form, “the weather,” with the definite ending -et. The neuter form is relevant here because vejr is a neuter noun; the definite form is not created merely because the noun is singular. Example: Vejret er godt. — “The weather is good.” ændrer sig means “changes” here. The verb is ændre (“change”), and ændrer is its present form. Sig is the reflexive pronoun used with ændre sig when the subject undergoes a change; it does not mean that the weather deliberately changes itself. Compare the transitive pattern Hun ændrer planen. — “She changes the plan.” Together, Vi kan gå indenfor expresses the possibility of going indoors. hvis vejret ændrer sig adds the condition “if the weather changes.” The complete utterance therefore means: “We can move indoors if the weather changes.”