Reading medicine label instructions | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg hentede denne medicin på apoteket.

   I picked up this medicine at the pharmacy.

   Jeg

   I

   hentede

   picked up

   denne

   this

   medicin

   medicine

   på

   at

   apoteket

   the pharmacy

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun, meaning the speaker. It is used for the subject: Jeg henter medicinen means “I pick up the medicine.” hentede is the past-tense form of hente, “to fetch, collect, or pick up.” The past form presents the picking up as completed: Jeg henter medicinen is “I pick up the medicine,” while Jeg hentede medicinen is “I picked up the medicine.” denne means “this” before a singular common-gender noun. Danish contrasts denne with dette before a singular neuter noun and disse for plural nouns. Here it points to the particular medicine intended by the speaker; it does not itself state how many items there are. medicin means “medicine.” In this sentence it is an uncounted substance or category noun, and denne medicin means “this medicine.” The definite form is medicinen, meaning “the medicine”: Jeg hentede medicinen means “I picked up the medicine.” på is a preposition meaning “at” here. With a location, på can identify the place where an action occurs: Hun arbejder på apoteket means “She works at the pharmacy.” apoteket means “the pharmacy.” It is the definite singular form of apotek, “pharmacy”: et apotek is “a pharmacy,” and apoteket is “the pharmacy.” The ending -et marks the definite form of this neuter noun; it is not a separate word. Together, Jeg hentede gives the completed action “I picked up,” denne medicin identifies what was picked up as “this medicine,” and på apoteket gives the location “at the pharmacy.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I picked up this medicine at the pharmacy.”

2. Forklarede apotekeren dig instruktionerne?

   Did the pharmacist explain the instructions?

   Forklarede

   explained

   apotekeren

   the pharmacist

   dig

   you

   instruktionerne

   the instructions

   More detail

   Forklarede is the past-tense form of forklare, “to explain”: forklare → forklarede. In this question it describes an explaining event that happened before now. Danish yes/no questions commonly place the finite verb first: Forklarede ...? means “Did ... explain ...?” Example: Forklarede hun planen? — “Did she explain the plan?” apotekeren means “the pharmacist.” It is the definite singular form of apoteker: en apoteker → apotekeren. The ending -en marks the common-gender definite singular form. Example: Apotekeren hjælper kunden. — “The pharmacist helps the customer.” dig means “you” as an object. It is the object form corresponding to the subject form du; compare Du hjælper mig — “You help me” — with Jeg hjælper dig — “I help you.” Here, dig is the person receiving the explanation. instruktionerne means “the instructions.” It is the definite plural form of instruktion: instruktioner means “instructions,” and instruktionerne means “the instructions.” The ending -ne marks definite plural here. Example: Læs instruktionerne. — “Read the instructions.” Together, the structure is Forklarede + apotekeren + dig + instruktionerne: “Did the pharmacist explain the instructions to you?” The verb comes first because this is a yes/no question; the pharmacist is the actor, dig is the recipient, and instruktionerne is what was explained.

3. På etiketten står der, at du skal tage den efter måltider.

   The label says to take it after meals.

   På

   on

   etiketten

   the label

   står der

   it says

   at

   that

   du skal

   you are to

   tage

   take

   den

   it

   efter

   after

   måltider

   meals

   More detail

   På etiketten means “on the label.” på is the preposition “on,” and etiketten is the definite singular form of etiket (“label”): en etiket → etiketten. Example: Der står en dato på etiketten. — “There is a date on the label.” står der is a fixed Danish way to say that something is written or stated there. står is the present form of stå (“stand”), but in this construction it does not mean that a person or object is literally standing. der is part of the construction, not a specific “it” referring to the item being taken. Example: Der står, at døren er lukket. — “It says that the door is closed.” at introduces the content of what is stated, corresponding here to “that.” It starts the following clause: at du skal tage den .... du skal combines du (“you”) with skal, the present form of skulle. Here skal expresses an instruction or requirement, so the clause means “you are to” or “you should,” rather than simply describing a future event. Example: Du skal læse vejledningen. — “You must read the instructions.” tage is the infinitive of tage (“take”). After the modal verb skal, Danish uses the infinitive without at: du skal tage, “you are to take.” Example: Du skal tage bussen. — “You are to take the bus.” den is a singular object pronoun used here for “it.” Its form is den, not det, when the omitted noun belongs to the common-gender class; the translation identifies the intended object only generally as “it,” not by a specific noun. Example: Jeg læser bogen og tager den med. — “I am reading the book and taking it along.” efter means “after” and places the action later than the following event or period. efter måltider therefore means “after meals.” Example: Vi mødes efter arbejdet. — “We meet after work.” måltider is the plural indefinite form of måltid (“meal”): et måltid → måltider. The plural refers to meals generally, not to one specifically identified meal. The definite plural would be måltiderne (“the meals”). Together, På etiketten står der says that the information is written on the label. at du skal tage den efter måltider gives the content of that information: the addressee is instructed to take the item after meals. Thus the whole utterance means, “The label says to take it after meals.”

4. Så skal du ikke tage den før morgenmaden.

   Then do not take it before breakfast.

   Så

   then

   skal du

   you are to

   ikke

   not

   tage

   take

   den

   it

   før

   before

   morgenmaden

   breakfast

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links this instruction to the preceding information. It can also introduce a result in other sentences, but here it marks the time or situation for the instruction. skal du is a useful Danish pattern: skal + subject + infinitive can express what someone is to do or must do. skal is the present form of skulle; du is the second-person singular subject, “you.” In a question, the same order can ask about an obligation: Skal du tage den? means “Are you going to take it?” or “Are you supposed to take it?” depending on context. ikke negates the following instruction. With skal du, it makes the direction negative: you are not to do the action. The position of ikke is important here because it combines with the modal construction rather than being part of the meanings of tage or den alone. tage is the infinitive “to take.” After a modal such as skal, Danish uses the infinitive without an infinitive marker: skal tage, “must/is to take.” The form tage itself does not show the subject; du supplies the “you.” Example: Du skal tage medicinen. — “You must take the medicine.” den is the singular common-gender object pronoun “it” here. It refers to the item that the label says should be taken; the fixed translation identifies it as the object of taking. Danish pronouns must match relevant grammatical features of their antecedents, so den is used for a common-gender singular noun, while det is used for a neuter singular noun. The pronoun’s grammatical form and its concrete referent are separate facts. før means “before” when one event or time comes earlier than another. It can introduce a time expression, as here. Compare før måltidet, “before the meal,” with efter måltidet, “after the meal”; efter expresses the opposite time relation. morgenmaden means “the breakfast.” It is the definite singular form of morgenmad, “breakfast”: morgenmad → morgenmaden. The ending -en marks definite singular for this noun; it is not an independent word. Danish definite forms vary by noun, so learners should learn the noun together with its form rather than assume every noun takes -en. Together, skal du tage gives “you are to take,” ikke reverses that instruction, and før morgenmaden specifies the time boundary: the taking must not happen before breakfast. With Så at the beginning, the whole utterance means: “Then do not take it before breakfast.”

5. Jeg er ikke sikker på dosen.

   I am not sure about the dose.

   Jeg er

   I am

   ikke

   not

   sikker på

   sure about

   dosen

   the dose

   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 form of være (“to be”), used with jeg: jeg er = “I am.” ikke means “not.” In this sentence it negates the following description: the speaker is not sure. Danish commonly places ikke after the finite verb in a main-clause statement, as here: Jeg er ikke .... sikker på means “sure about” here. sikker is the adjective “sure/certain,” and på is the preposition used with this adjective for the matter someone is sure about. The adjective’s useful forms include sikker with a common-gender singular noun, sikkert with a neuter singular noun, and sikre in plural or definite contexts. For example, Hun er sikker på svaret. = “She is sure about the answer.” dosen means “the dose.” Its base noun is dose; the ending -en marks the definite singular form of this common-gender noun: en dose = “a dose,” dosen = “the dose.” This form identifies a specific dose in the situation; it does not by itself state a numerical amount. Together, Jeg er + ikke gives “I am not,” and sikker på + dosen gives “sure about the dose.” The complete utterance is therefore “I am not sure about the dose.”

6. Ring til apoteket, hvis etiketten er uklar.

   Call the pharmacy if the label is unclear.

   Ring

   call

   apoteket

   the pharmacy

   hvis

   if

   etiketten

   the label

   uklar

   unclear

   More detail

   Ring is the imperative of ringe (“to call”). The imperative gives a direct instruction and normally has no stated subject: Ring til ... = “Call ...”. The verb ringe can also appear in present tense as ringer: Jeg ringer til apoteket. — “I am calling the pharmacy.” apoteket means “the pharmacy” here. Its base noun is apotek; the ending -et marks the definite singular form: et apotek = “a pharmacy”, apoteket = “the pharmacy”. The preposition til before it contributes “to”, so ringe til is the reusable pattern for calling a person or place: Ring til lægen. — “Call the doctor.” hvis introduces a condition and means “if”. The clause after it states the condition under which the instruction applies. It can introduce a different condition as well: Ring, hvis du er i tvivl. — “Call if you are in doubt.” etiketten means “the label”. Its base noun is etiket; etiketten is the definite singular form. The ending -en is used here because etiket is a common-gender noun: en etiket = “a label”, etiketten = “the label”. uklar means “unclear” in this sentence. It is the common-gender singular form of the adjective uklar; the neuter singular form is uklart, and the plural or definite form is commonly uklare. Here the adjective follows the verb er and describes the label: etiketten er uklar = “the label is unclear”. This is different from the related adjective klar, “clear”: etiketten er klar — “the label is clear.” Together, Ring til apoteket gives the instruction “Call the pharmacy”, and hvis etiketten er uklar gives its condition, “if the label is unclear”. The whole utterance therefore means: “Call the pharmacy if the label is unclear.”

7. Det er sikrere end at gætte.

   That is safer than guessing.

   Det

   that

   er

   is

   sikrere

   safer

   end

   than

   at gætte

   guessing

   More detail

   Det means “that” here and functions as the subject. The supplied sentence supports this demonstrative meaning, but it does not uniquely identify what “that” refers to, so no specific antecedent is stated. er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” The pattern X er Y states that X has the property Y. Example: Det er uklart. — “That is unclear.” sikrere is the comparative form of sikker, “safe” or “sure.” The comparison chain is sikker → sikrere → sikrest (“safe” → “safer” → “safest”). The comparative says that the subject has a higher degree of safety than the alternative introduced by end; it does not by itself say that the subject is completely safe. end introduces the comparison. In the pattern X er [comparative] end Y, it corresponds to “than”: Det er bedre end ... — “That is better than ...” at gætte is an infinitive phrase meaning “to guess” or, after the comparison, “guessing.” at marks the infinitive, and gætte is the infinitive form of the verb. The same verb appears in the present-tense form gætter: Jeg gætter. — “I am guessing” or “I guess.” Together, Det er sikrere says “That is safer,” and end at gætte supplies the comparison: “than guessing.” The complete utterance therefore means “That is safer than guessing.”

8. Apotekeren kan fortælle dig den rigtige dosis, før du tager den.

   The pharmacist can tell you the correct dose before you take it.

   Apotekeren

   the pharmacist

   kan

   can

   fortælle

   tell

   dig

   you

   rigtige

   correct

   dosis

   dose

   før

   before

   du

   you

   tager

   take

   den

   it

   More detail

   Apotekeren means “the pharmacist” here. The noun is apoteker (“pharmacist”); its definite singular form is apotekeren, marked by -en. The ending expresses definiteness, not plurality. kan is the modal verb “can” and is the present form of kunne. In Danish, a modal is followed by an infinitive without at: kan fortælle = “can tell”. fortælle means “tell” and is the infinitive after kan. Example: Hun kan fortælle sandheden. — “She can tell the truth.” dig means “you” as the object of the verb. It is the object form of the second-person pronoun; the subject form is du. den rigtige dosis means “the correct dose”. rigtige is the adjective rigtig (“correct, right”) in the form used with a definite common-gender singular noun after den. The noun carrying the meaning “dose” is dosis, not the adjective. Example: Det er den rigtige løsning. — “That is the correct solution.” dosis means “dose”. In this sentence it is the definite noun phrase den rigtige dosis, where den and the adjective mark the phrase as definite. før introduces the time clause “before”. It links the main action to an action that happens earlier or is to happen earlier: før du tager den = “before you take it”. du is the subject form of “you” in the subordinate clause. Compare the subject form du with the object form dig: Du kan hjælpe mig. — “You can help me.” tager means “take” here and is the present form of tage. Danish present forms generally do not change for the subject’s person or number: jeg tager, du tager, and de tager all use tager. den means “it” here and is an object pronoun. The fixed translation identifies its referent as the dose. This is distinct from den before a noun, as in den rigtige dosis, where it is part of a definite noun phrase. Together, Apotekeren kan fortælle dig means “the pharmacist can tell you”; den rigtige dosis specifies what the pharmacist can tell you; and før du tager den sets the time relation “before you take it”. The complete meaning is: “The pharmacist can tell you the correct dose before you take it.”