Cleaning up the common room | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Vi brugte fællesrummet et stykke tid.

   We used the common room for a while.

   Vi

   we

   brugte

   used

   fællesrummet

   the common room

   et stykke tid

   for a while

   More detail

   Vi means “we”: a first-person plural subject pronoun. Danish subject pronouns include jeg (“I”), du (“you,” singular), and vi (“we”). Vi does not show the gender of the people included. brugte is the past-tense form of bruge, “to use.” It describes using something in the past; the subject here is vi, so the meaning is “we used.” Example: Jeg brugte telefonen. — “I used the phone.” fællesrummet means “the common room.” Its base noun is fællesrum; the ending -et marks the definite singular form, “the common room.” The compound combines fælles (“shared/common”) with rum (“room”). Example: Fællesrummet er stort. — “The common room is large.” et stykke tid is a fixed duration expression meaning “for a while.” It describes how long the use lasted. Although et is also an indefinite article, this expression does not by itself assert a numerical count; together, the words express an unspecified period of time. Example: Vi ventede et stykke tid. — “We waited for a while.” Together, Vi + brugte gives “we used,” fællesrummet identifies what was used, and et stykke tid gives its duration. The complete meaning is: “We used the common room for a while.”

2. Lad os rydde op, før vi går.

   Let's clean it up before we head out.

   Lad os

   let’s

   rydde op

   clean up

   før

   before

   går

   go / head out

   More detail

   Lad os is the Danish way to make a “let’s …” suggestion. lad is the imperative of lade (“let/allow”), and os is the object form meaning “us”; together, Lad os + infinitive introduces an action proposed for the speaker and others. rydde op means “clean up” or “tidy up.” rydde is the infinitive of rydde (“clear/tidy”), and op is a particle that forms the useful verb combination rydde op. After Lad os, the verb stays in the infinitive: Lad os rydde op. — “Let’s clean up.” før means “before” and introduces a subordinate time clause. It places the event in that clause later than the event in the main clause, without by itself expressing obligation: før vi går means “before we go.” går is the present-tense form of gå (“go”). With vi (“we”), it means “we go”; in this sentence, the fixed translation gives the intended sense “we head out.” Danish uses the same present form for this kind of present or scheduled action: Vi går nu. — “We’re leaving now.” The sentence combines the suggestion Lad os rydde op with the time clause før vi går: “Let’s clean up before we head out.”

3. Jeg sætter stolene tilbage, hvor de stod.

   I'll put the chairs back where they were.

   Jeg

   I

   sætter

   put

   stolene

   the chairs

   tilbage

   back

   hvor

   where

   de

   they

   stod

   were standing

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here and identifies the speaker as the actor. Danish jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun; it does not change for gender. sætter is the present-tense form of sætte, “to put” or “to set.” In this sentence, the present form refers to the speaker’s intended action, naturally translated as “I’ll put,” rather than necessarily an action happening at this exact moment. Compare jeg sætter bogen på bordet — “I put the book on the table.” stolene means “the chairs.” The base noun is stol, “chair,” and stolene is its definite plural form: stole means “chairs,” while the ending -ne marks “the chairs.” The noun is definite and plural; the form does not itself specify who owns the chairs. tilbage is the adverb “back,” indicating return to an earlier or expected place. It combines with sætter to give the reusable pattern sætte noget tilbage, “put something back.” hvor means “where” and introduces a clause describing a place. Here it connects the act of putting the chairs back with their prior location. de means “they” in this clause. It is a third-person plural subject pronoun and refers here to the chairs, as confirmed by the fixed translation. Danish de is distinct from singular den and det in contexts where a singular pronoun is required. stod is the past-tense form of stå, “to stand.” With chairs, it describes their previous position: “were standing” or simply “were.” The past form places that position before the putting-back action. Compare stolene står her — “the chairs are standing here” — with stolene stod her — “the chairs were standing here.” Together, stolene tilbage gives “the chairs back,” and hvor de stod gives “where they were.” The full sentence therefore means: “I’ll put the chairs back where they were.” The main clause uses present-form sætter for the speaker’s intended action, while the subordinate hvor-clause uses past stod for the chairs’ earlier position.

4. Jeg fjerner affaldet fra bordene.

   I'll clear the trash from the tables.

   Jeg

   I

   fjerner

   remove; clear

   affaldet

   the trash

   fra

   from

   bordene

   the tables

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun, meaning “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out the action. A useful contrast is jeg “I” versus vi “we”; the preceding sentence also uses Jeg, so the same speaker is involved there. fjerner means “remove” or, with affaldet, “clear away.” It is the present-tense form of fjerne (“to remove”). Danish present tense can describe a planned or imminent action when the context makes that timing clear; here, the surrounding cleanup actions support the future-oriented translation “I’ll clear.” For example, Jeg fjerner koppen. means “I’ll remove the cup” or “I’m removing the cup,” depending on context. affaldet means “the trash” here. Its base form is affald (“trash” or “waste”), and the ending -et marks the definite singular form: affald → affaldet. Affald is commonly treated as a mass noun, so this form refers to the waste as a substance or collection rather than asserting a particular numeric count. For example, Affaldet skal væk. means “The trash has to be removed.” fra is the preposition “from.” It marks the place or source from which something is removed. In the reusable pattern fjerne X fra Y, X is what is removed and Y is the place or source it is removed from. For example, Hun fjerner bogen fra hylden. means “She removes the book from the shelf.” bordene means “the tables.” Its base form is bord (“table”); the plural is borde, and the definite plural is bordene: bord → borde → bordene. The ending -ene marks “the” for a definite plural in this noun. Here it is the source location after fra, so the trash is removed from the tables. Together, Jeg fjerner gives “I’ll remove/clear,” affaldet identifies what is being removed, and fra bordene identifies where it is removed from. The complete meaning is “I’ll clear the trash from the tables.”

5. Skal vi også slukke lyset?

   Should we turn off the lights too?

   Skal vi

   should we

   også

   too; also

   slukke

   turn off

   lyset

   the light

   More detail

   Skal vi is a reusable way to ask whether “we” should do something. skal is the present form of skulle, which can express obligation, recommendation, or a proposed action; here it forms a suggestion/question with vi (“we”). In a question, Danish places skal before the subject: Skal vi ...? = “Should we ...?” også means “also” or “too”. It adds this action to something already relevant, without changing who is expected to act. Its position here, before the main verb, is common: Vi skal også ... means “We should also ...”. slukke means “to turn off” or “to switch off”. It is the infinitive after skal; Danish uses the infinitive directly after this modal, without an English-style at: Vi skal slukke = “We should turn off.” The imperative in the related example Sluk lyset. uses sluk, the imperative form, not the infinitive slukke. lyset means “the light” here and is the definite form of lys (“light”). Danish commonly marks definiteness by a suffix: et lys = “a light”, lyset = “the light”. The fixed translation uses “the lights”; in this utterance, the Danish singular definite form is understood with that intended meaning, and the nearby example Sluk lyset. uses the same form. Together, Skal vi + også + slukke + lyset produces: “Should we turn off the lights too?” The utterance asks whether the speakers should jointly perform the action of turning off the light(s), while også signals that this action is an additional one.

6. Sluk lyset.

   Turn off the lights.

   Sluk

   turn off

   lyset

   the light

   More detail

   Sluk is the imperative of slukke, “to turn off” or “to extinguish.” The imperative gives a direct instruction to the person addressed; the subject “you” is understood rather than stated. For example: Sluk radioen. — “Turn off the radio.” lyset is the definite singular form of lys, “light.” Danish commonly marks definiteness by a suffix: et lys means “a light,” while lyset means “the light.” Here, the fixed translation uses the natural English wording “the lights,” but the Danish form itself is singular and definite; it does not explicitly mark a plural. Together, Sluk + lyset form a direct instruction: “Turn off the light,” rendered in the fixed translation as “Turn off the lights.” The command is concise and suitable for an ordinary practical instruction.

7. Luk vinduerne, før vi låser af.

   Close the windows before we lock up.

   Luk

   close

   vinduerne

   the windows

   før

   before

   låser af

   lock up

   More detail

   Luk is the imperative of lukke (“to close”). The imperative gives a direct instruction and normally has no written subject: Luk døren. = “Close the door.” The observed form therefore expresses the instruction to close, while the object appears in the next phrase. vinduerne means “the windows.” It is the definite plural form of vindue (“window”): et vindue → vinduer → vinduerne. The ending -ne marks definite plural here. Compare vinduer (“windows”) with vinduerne (“the windows”). før introduces the time relation “before.” It connects the instruction with a following clause: før vi går = “before we leave.” The event after før is the one that must happen later in the stated sequence. låser af is the verb construction låse af, meaning “to lock up” in this sentence. låser is the present-tense form of låse; with the subject vi, it means “we lock.” The particle af is part of the construction and contributes to the meaning “lock up,” rather than simply being an unrelated preposition. For example, Vi låser af klokken fem. = “We lock up at five.” Together, Luk vinduerne gives the instruction “Close the windows.” The clause før vi låser af specifies that this should happen before “we lock up.” The complete meaning is therefore: “Close the windows before we lock up.”

8. Rummet ser klart ud til den næste gruppe.

   The room looks ready for the next group.

   Rummet

   the room

   ser … ud

   looks

   klart

   ready

   til

   for

   næste

   next

   gruppe

   group

   More detail

   Rummet means “the room.” It is the definite singular form of rum (“room”): et rum = “a room,” rummet = “the room.” In this sentence, the room is the subject. ser ... ud is a useful Danish construction meaning “looks” or “seems.” ser is the present-tense form of se (“to see”), while ud is a separate particle; together they form se ud. Example: Det ser godt ud. — “It looks good.” klart means “ready” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective klar (“ready”). The form is klart because it describes the neuter singular subject rummet; this is adjective agreement, not a change to the noun. Example: Alt er klart. — “Everything is ready.” til means “for” in this phrase and introduces the group that the room is ready for. Its meaning here is not the English direction “to.” den næste means “the next.” næste is the adjective “next”; in this definite noun phrase, den marks the singular common-gender noun phrase, and næste keeps this form. Example: den næste dag — “the next day.” gruppe means “group.” It is a common-gender singular noun: en gruppe = “a group,” gruppen = “the group.” Here, den næste gruppe means “the next group.” Together, Rummet ser klart ud says “The room looks ready,” and til den næste gruppe specifies who it is ready for. The complete meaning is: “The room looks ready for the next group.”

9. Så kan vi låse døren og gå.

   Then we can lock the door and leave.

   Så

   then

   kan vi

   we can

   låse

   lock

   døren

   the door

   gå

   leave

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links this sentence to the preceding situation. It can also introduce a conclusion or consequence: Så går vi. — “Then we’re leaving.” kan vi combines kan, the present form of kunne (“can, be able to”), with vi (“we”). The modal expresses that the group has the possibility or permission to do the actions. After kan, Danish uses the infinitive without at: Vi kan gå. — “We can leave.” Vi is the first-person plural pronoun, referring to the speaker together with one or more others; the sentence does not specify exactly who else is included. låse is the infinitive of låse (“to lock”). It is the first action governed by kan. With a modal, the infinitive remains unchanged: De kan låse døren. — “They can lock the door.” døren means “the door” in this sentence. It is the definite form of dør (“door”): dør → døren. The ending -en marks common-gender definiteness in this noun; it is the noun dør that carries this inflection. An indefinite form is en dør (“a door”), while døren refers to a specific door understood in the situation. gå is the infinitive of gå (“to go”); with the fixed translation, it means “leave” here. It is coordinated with låse by og, so both infinitives depend on kan: Vi kan låse døren og gå. — “We can lock the door and leave.” Together, Så kan vi (“Then we can”) introduces the available next actions. låse døren means “lock the door,” and og gå adds “and leave.” The complete utterance is therefore “Then we can lock the door and leave.”