Making a clinic appointment when you feel unwell | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg hoster og føler mig træt i dag.

   I have a cough and feel tired today.

   hoster

   cough

   føler mig

   feel

   træt

   tired

   i dag

   today

   More detail

   hoster means “cough” here. Its base form is hoste; hoster is the present-tense form used with jeg (“I”). Danish present tense commonly marks an action or condition happening now or around now. Example: Jeg hoster. — “I am coughing.” føler mig means “feel” in the construction “feel myself / feel”. føler is the present-tense form of føle (“to feel”), and mig is the first-person object form (“me”). Together, jeg føler mig ... describes the speaker’s own state. Example: Jeg føler mig godt tilpas. — “I feel comfortable.” træt is the adjective “tired”. After føler mig, it describes the speaker’s state. The adjective itself is not the verb: føle is the base verb, while træt supplies the condition being felt. Example: Hun føler sig træt. — “She feels tired.” With another subject, the reflexive form changes appropriately: sig refers back to hun, whereas mig refers back to jeg. i dag is the time expression “today”. It identifies the day on which the coughing and tiredness are being reported. Example: Jeg arbejder i dag. — “I am working today.” The utterance combines the two present-tense statements with og (“and”): Jeg hoster = “I cough / I am coughing”, and føler mig træt = “feel tired”. The final time expression i dag applies to the report as a whole. Thus the complete meaning is: “I have a cough and feel tired today.”

2. Du bør ringe til klinikken og bede om en tid.

   You should call the clinic and ask for an appointment.

   Du bør

   you should

   ringe

   call

   klinikken

   the clinic

   bede om

   ask for

   tid

   time

   More detail

   Du bør means “you should.” Du is the second-person singular subject pronoun, and bør is the present form of burde, a modal verb expressing advice or what is appropriate. The modal is followed by an infinitive without at: Du bør ringe = “You should call.” ringe means “to call” or “to phone.” It is the infinitive form, used here after the modal bør. For example, Jeg vil ringe i morgen means “I want to call tomorrow.” klinikken means “the clinic.” The ending -en marks the definite form of the common-gender noun klinik: en klinik = “a clinic,” klinikken = “the clinic.” The preposition til before it gives the destination or recipient of the call: ringe til klinikken = “call the clinic.” bede om means “to ask for” or “to request.” bede is the infinitive, and om introduces what is requested. For example, Hun beder om hjælp means “She asks for help.” tid means “time.” In the combination en tid, especially in a healthcare setting, it can mean “an appointment.” Tid is a common-gender noun, so its indefinite form is en tid. The indefinite article does not itself specify a numerical count; it presents an unspecified appointment. Together, Du bør ringe til klinikken says “You should call the clinic,” and og bede om en tid adds “and ask for an appointment.” The complete utterance is: “You should call the clinic and ask for an appointment.”

3. Hvad skal jeg sige, når jeg ringer?

   What should I say when I call?

   Hvad

   what

   skal jeg

   should I

   sige

   say

   når

   when

   ringer

   call

   More detail

   Hvad means “what” and asks for the content of an answer or utterance. It is the usual Danish question word for an unspecified thing or information. Example: Hvad laver du? — “What are you doing?” skal jeg combines the modal verb skal with the subject pronoun jeg. In this question, skal expresses what the speaker ought to do or is expected to do: “should I”. Skal can also express obligation or a future arrangement in other contexts, so its exact meaning comes from the sentence. Danish places the modal before the subject in this question: Hvad skal jeg ...? — “What should I ...?” sige is the infinitive of sige, “to say”. After a modal such as skal, Danish uses the infinitive without an infinitive marker: jeg skal sige — “I should say”. The useful pattern is Hvad skal jeg sige? — “What should I say?” når introduces a time clause meaning “when”. It connects an action with the time at which it happens. Example: Jeg ringer, når jeg er klar. — “I will call when I am ready.” ringer is the present-tense form of ringe, “to call”. In jeg ringer, it means “I call” or, in this time clause, “I call/will call”. Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change form for different subjects: jeg ringer — “I call”, du ringer — “you call”. Together, Hvad skal jeg sige asks what words the speaker ought to use, and når jeg ringer specifies the time: “when I call”. The complete utterance means “What should I say when I call?”

4. Sig, at du føler dig utilpas og gerne vil se en læge.

   Tell them you feel unwell and would like to see a doctor.

   Sig

   tell / say

   føler

   feel

   utilpas

   unwell

   gerne vil

   would like to

   se

   see

   læge

   doctor

   More detail

   Sig is the imperative of sige (“to say/tell”). The imperative gives a direct instruction to one person: “Tell …”. For example, Sig sandheden. means “Tell the truth.” føler is the present-tense form of føle (“to feel”). Here it describes the addressee’s current condition. Danish uses føle sig when someone experiences a state themselves: Jeg føler mig træt. means “I feel tired.” dig is the reflexive pronoun referring to the person being told to speak. In du føler dig, du is the subject and dig is the corresponding reflexive object. The adjective utilpas means “unwell” or “uncomfortable” here; it describes the state that the speaker experiences. gerne vil combines gerne (“gladly” or “willingly”) with vil, the present form of ville (“to want” or “will”). Together, vil gerne expresses a polite desire, commonly translated as “would like to.” In this sentence the order is gerne vil because the combination occurs inside the subordinate clause introduced by at: Jeg vil gerne … means “I would like …”, while after at the finite verb follows the subject: at jeg gerne vil … (“that I would like …”). se is the infinitive of se (“to see”). It follows vil, because ville is followed by an infinitive when it expresses what someone wants to do. The useful pattern is vil gerne + infinitive, as in Jeg vil gerne lære dansk. — “I would like to learn Danish.” læge means “doctor” in this context. en læge is an indefinite noun phrase: en marks the noun as indefinite, while læge names the profession. The article does not by itself need to be understood as emphasizing a numerical count. For example, Jeg taler med en læge. means “I am speaking with a doctor.” The utterance is assembled as Sig, at ...: “Tell [them] that …”. The subordinate clause has two coordinated parts: du føler dig utilpas (“you feel unwell”) and gerne vil se en læge (“would like to see a doctor”). The fixed translation identifies the implied recipient of Sig as “them,” while du is the person whose condition and wish are being reported. Together, the sentence means: “Tell them you feel unwell and would like to see a doctor.”

5. Jeg vil også spørge, hvilke tider der er ledige.

   I also want to ask what times are available.

   Jeg vil

   I want to

   også

   also

   spørge

   ask

   hvilke

   which

   tider

   times

   der er

   there are

   ledige

   available

   More detail

   Jeg vil means “I want to” here. vil is the present-tense form of ville; Danish present forms do not change for person, so the same vil can occur with different subjects. In this sentence it expresses a wish or intention, not a prediction. The pattern Jeg vil + infinitive is reusable: Jeg vil vente. — “I want to wait.” også adds “also” to the speaker’s intention. Its position after vil makes the meaning “I also want to…”. spørge is the infinitive “to ask”. It follows vil, so the construction is vil + infinitive: Jeg vil spørge. — “I want to ask.” The observed form is the base infinitive; spørger is the present form “ask/am asking.” hvilke means “which” when selecting among plural things. It is the plural form in the set hvilken (common gender singular), hvilket (neuter singular), hvilke (plural). Here it agrees with the plural noun tider, not with the speaker. tider is the plural of tid, “time” or, in this context, an appointment time. The plural is important because the sentence asks which available times exist, rather than referring to one particular time. For example, Jeg har to tider. means “I have two appointment times.” der er contributes “there are” in the embedded question. Danish uses der in this existential/presentative pattern, while er is the present form of være, “to be”. Together with ledige, the phrase says that the relevant times are available. ledige means “available” or “free” here. It is the plural form of ledig; the corresponding singular forms are ledig with a common-gender noun and ledigt with a neuter noun. Because tider is plural, the adjective is ledige. For example, Tiderne er ledige. means “The times are available.” The meaningful structure is Jeg vil også spørge (“I also want to ask”) followed by the embedded question hvilke tider der er ledige (“which times there are available”). Together, the utterance means: “I also want to ask what times are available.”

6. Det vil hjælpe dem med at finde en tid, der passer dig.

   That will help them find an appointment that works for you.

   Det

   that

   vil

   will

   hjælpe

   help

   dem

   them

   med at

   to, by

   finde

   find

   tid

   time; appointment

   passer

   suits; works for

   dig

   you

   More detail

   Det means “that” here as the subject, referring to something already understood rather than naming a specific noun in this sentence. Danish uses det for a neuter singular referent and also commonly for a whole situation or proposition. The contrasting forms include den for a common-gender singular referent and de for plural referents. vil is a modal verb. In this sentence, vil + an infinitive gives the future-oriented meaning “will help”: Det vil hjælpe = “That will help.” The same form can also mean “want” in other constructions, but that is not the meaning here. hjælpe is the infinitive “to help.” Its present-tense form is hjælper: Det hjælper dem = “That helps them.” After the modal vil, Danish uses the infinitive hjælpe, not the present form. dem is the object pronoun “them,” referring to the people who will find the appointment. It is the object form of third-person plural; de is the corresponding subject form: De hjælper = “They help,” but Jeg hjælper dem = “I help them.” med at introduces an activity that someone is helped with. The reusable pattern is hjælpe nogen med at + infinitive, meaning “help someone to do something” or simply “help someone do something.” Here, dem is the person receiving help, and the following infinitive is finde. finde means “to find” and is in the infinitive because it follows at. Its present form is finder: De finder en tid = “They find an appointment.” tid means “time” here, more specifically an appointment or available time slot. The phrase en tid is singular; the plural is tider, and the definite singular form is tiden. The article en marks a singular common-gender noun; it does not by itself assert a numerical count beyond the noun phrase being singular. passer is the present form of passe, “to suit” or “to work for.” In en tid, der passer dig, the appointment is the subject of passer, so the third-person singular present form is used. The meaning is that the time suits you or works for you. The form passe is used after an infinitive marker, as in at passe dig = “to suit you.” dig means “you” as an object. Compare subject du with object dig: Du finder en tid = “You find an appointment,” but En tid passer dig = “An appointment works for you.” The relative word der introduces the clause describing the appointment; it does not itself identify the appointment. Together, Det vil hjælpe dem means “That will help them,” and med at finde en tid specifies the activity: “with finding an appointment.” The relative clause der passer dig describes which appointment: one that works for you. The complete meaning is “That will help them find an appointment that works for you.”

7. Jeg ringer til klinikken nu.

   I will call the clinic now.

   Jeg

   I

   ringer

   call / phone

   klinikken

   the clinic

   nu

   now

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: it is the first-person singular subject pronoun. Danish subject pronouns include jeg “I,” du “you,” and han/hun “he/she.” ringer is the present-tense form of ringe, “to call” or “to phone.” The pattern ringe til is used for calling a person or place: Jeg ringer til lægen. = “I am calling the doctor.” In Danish, the present tense can also describe an imminent or scheduled action, so ringer can correspond to “will call” when the context makes that future meaning clear. klinikken means “the clinic.” The noun is klinik; the ending -en marks the common-gender definite singular form, “the clinic.” Danish often expresses definiteness with a suffix attached to the noun: en klinik = “a clinic,” klinikken = “the clinic.” nu means “now” and places the action at the present moment or immediate time. For example, Jeg kommer nu. means “I am coming now.” Together, Jeg ringer til klinikken means “I am calling the clinic.” The preposition til is part of the useful Danish pattern ringe til “call/phone [someone or somewhere].” Adding nu gives Jeg ringer til klinikken nu. The fixed translation uses the immediate-future reading: “I will call the clinic now.”

8. Skriv dine symptomer ned, så du kan forklare dem tydeligt.

   Write your symptoms down so you can explain them clearly.

   Skriv … ned

   write down

   dine

   your

   symptomer

   symptoms

   så du kan

   so you can

   forklare

   explain

   dem

   them

   tydeligt

   clearly

   More detail

   Skriv ... ned is the reusable pattern for telling someone to write something down. Skriv is the imperative of skrive (“to write”); the imperative addresses one or more people without stating the subject. Ned adds the idea of recording the information, rather than merely writing in general. Because the object comes between the verb and ned here, the pattern can be used with other objects too: Skriv adressen ned. — “Write the address down.” Dine means “your” here and modifies the plural noun symptomer. Danish possessives agree with the possessed noun: compare din with a common-gender singular noun, dit with a neuter singular noun, and dine with a plural noun. The possessor is singular “you”; dine is plural because the possessed noun is plural. Symptomer is the plural of symptom, “symptom.” The plural form is useful when referring to more than one symptom. The phrase dine symptomer therefore means “your symptoms,” without specifying a particular number beyond plurality. Så du kan introduces the purpose or intended result: “so you can.” Kan is the present form of the modal verb kunne, “can/be able to,” and du is its subject, “you.” Danish normally places an infinitive after this modal: Du kan vente. — “You can wait.” Forklare is the infinitive of forklare, “to explain.” After kan, the infinitive appears without an infinitive marker: kan forklare, “can explain.” Dem means “them” as an object pronoun. In this sentence it refers to the symptoms identified by dine symptomer, so forklare dem means “explain them.” Danish uses dem for the object form of a plural third-person pronoun; it is different from the subject form de, “they.” Tydeligt means “clearly” in this sentence. It is the adverb modifying forklare, describing how the explaining is to be done. The related adjective is tydelig, “clear”; Danish also has tydeligt as a neuter adjective form, while tydelige is used with plural or definite noun phrases. Here tydeligt functions adverbially, not as a description of a noun. Together, Skriv dine symptomer ned means “Write your symptoms down.” The purpose clause så du kan forklare dem tydeligt adds “so you can explain them clearly.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Write your symptoms down so you can explain them clearly.”