Adapting a recipe | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Opskriften kræver frisk basilikum, men vi har kun tørrede krydderurter.

   The recipe needs fresh basil, but we only have dried herbs.

   Opskriften

   the recipe

   kræver

   requires; needs

   frisk

   fresh

   basilikum

   basil

   men

   but

   vi

   we

   har

   have

   kun

   only

   tørrede

   dried

   krydderurter

   herbs

   More detail

   Opskriften means “the recipe.” It is the definite singular form of opskrift (“recipe”): en opskrift = “a recipe,” opskriften = “the recipe.” The definite ending identifies a particular recipe, but the sentence does not explain which recipe. Example: Opskriften er nem. — “The recipe is easy.” kræver is the present-tense form of kræve (“to require; to need”). Here it says what the recipe calls for. The present form is used for the recipe’s stated requirements. Example: Retten kræver tid. — “The dish requires time.” frisk means “fresh” here and describes basilikum. It is placed before the noun. Example: Vi køber frisk basilikum. — “We are buying fresh basil.” basilikum means “basil.” Together, frisk basilikum is “fresh basil,” the ingredient required by the recipe. The word is a mass-like ingredient noun here, so the sentence does not state a number of basil leaves or plants. men connects the requirement with a contrast: “but.” It introduces the actual available alternative after the comma. Example: Jeg vil gerne komme, men jeg er syg. — “I would like to come, but I am ill.” vi is the subject pronoun “we.” It refers to the speaker together with at least one other participant, as also reflected in the fixed translation. Danish uses vi for this first-person plural subject; the object form is os (“us”). Example: Vi laver mad. — “We are cooking.” har is the present-tense form of have (“to have”). With vi, it means “we have.” Example: Vi har tid. — “We have time.” kun means “only” and limits what is available: the group has dried herbs, and the sentence presents no fresh basil as available. It does not itself state a numerical count. Example: Vi har kun vand. — “We only have water.” tørrede means “dried” here and describes krydderurter. It is the form used with a plural noun in this phrase. Its base adjective is tørret (“dried”); compare singular en tørret urt (“a dried herb”) with plural tørrede urter (“dried herbs”). krydderurter means “herbs,” specifically culinary or seasoning herbs. It is the plural of krydderurt. The phrase tørrede krydderurter therefore means “dried herbs,” not necessarily one particular herb or a stated quantity. The sentence builds two contrasted parts: Opskriften kræver frisk basilikum = “The recipe needs fresh basil,” while men vi har kun tørrede krydderurter = “but we only have dried herbs.” Together, it states the recipe’s ingredient requirement and contrasts it with what the group has available.

2. Vi kan stadig lave den, men smagen bliver bare lidt anderledes.

   We can still make it; the flavor will just be a little different.

   Vi kan

   we can

   stadig

   still

   lave

   make

   den

   it

   men

   but

   smagen

   the flavor

   bliver

   will be

   bare

   just

   lidt

   a little

   anderledes

   different

   More detail

   Vi kan means “we can.” Vi is the first-person plural pronoun, “we,” and kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can/be able to.” In Danish, kan is followed by an infinitive without an English-style “to”: Vi kan lave = “We can make.” stadig means “still.” It shows that the possibility remains despite the changed ingredient situation. Example: Vi kan stadig komme. — “We can still come.” lave means “make” here. It is the infinitive of lave; after a modal such as kan, Danish uses this infinitive form. Lave den means “make it,” with den referring to the thing being made without the sentence specifying it by name. Example: Jeg kan lave suppen. — “I can make the soup.” den means “it” here as the object of lave. It is a Danish third-person singular pronoun used for a common-gender noun or noun phrase; its exact referent is not identified by this sentence. The form den can also function as a determiner before a common-gender noun, but that is not its role here. men means “but.” It connects the continued possibility with a qualification: the item can still be made, although an aspect of it will differ. smagen means “the flavor.” It is the definite singular form of smag, “flavor/taste”: en smag = “a flavor,” smagen = “the flavor.” The -en ending marks definiteness for this noun; it is the noun, not an adjective, that carries this form. bliver means “will be” in this context. It is the present-tense form of blive, “become/be,” and Danish commonly uses the present tense for a future result when the time is clear from context. Here smagen bliver ... says that the flavor will turn out different. Example: Maden bliver bedre. — “The food will be better.” bare means “just” here. It limits the qualification, presenting the difference as a relatively simple consequence rather than adding a stronger claim. Its meaning belongs to bare, not to the neighboring quantity word lidt. lidt means “a little” and makes the degree of difference small. It can also be used with uncountable quantities, as in lidt vand — “a little water.” Here it modifies anderledes. anderledes means “different.” In this sentence it describes how the flavor will be. It is an adjective here; the form is not a comparative inflection of anderledes. Example: Det smager anderledes. — “It tastes different.” Together, Vi kan stadig lave den says “We can still make it.” men introduces the qualification, and smagen bliver bare lidt anderledes says that the flavor will be just a little different. The complete meaning is: “We can still make it; the flavor will just be a little different.”

3. Skal vi tilsætte de tørrede krydderurter tidligere, så de bliver bløde i saucen?

   Should we add the dried herbs earlier so they soften in the sauce?

   Skal vi

   should we

   tilsætte

   add

   tørrede

   dried

   krydderurter

   herbs

   tidligere

   earlier

   bliver

   become

   bløde

   soft

   saucen

   the sauce

   More detail

   Skal vi combines skal with vi in a yes/no question. Here skal expresses a proposed or considered action—“should”—rather than a firm statement that the action will happen. Danish places the modal before the subject in this question pattern: Skal vi ...? (“Should we ...?”). A useful parallel is Skal jeg vente? — “Should I wait?” tilsætte means “to add,” specifically adding an ingredient to something. It is the infinitive used after skal; the modal carries the tense and question force, while tilsætte names the action. Its present-tense form is tilsætter, as in Vi tilsætter urterne — “We add the herbs.” tørrede describes the herbs as dried. It is the plural form of tørret, related to the verb tørre (“to dry”). The ending agrees with the plural noun krydderurter: tørret krydderurt is “dried herb” in the singular, while tørrede krydderurter is “dried herbs.” krydderurter is the plural of krydderurt, meaning “herb used for seasoning.” The compound contains krydder (“spice/seasoning”) and urt (“herb”), but the whole compound is the useful noun here. Friske krydderurter means “fresh herbs,” providing a common contrast with tørrede krydderurter. tidligere means “earlier,” comparing the proposed timing with a later or current timing. It can modify a verb phrase: Tilsæt dem tidligere means “Add them earlier.” In a time comparison, tidligt means “early,” and tidligere means “earlier”; it is not an inflection of the noun krydderurter. bliver is the present-tense form of blive, “to become” or “to get” in a change-of-state expression. Here it introduces the result of the herbs being in the sauce: they become soft. Compare De er bløde — “They are soft,” describing a state, with De bliver bløde — “They become soft,” describing a change into that state. bløde means “soft” here. It is the form of the adjective blød used with the plural subject de; the same form is also used with a definite noun phrase. For example, grøntsagerne bliver bløde means “the vegetables become soft.” saucen means “the sauce.” The base noun is sauce; the ending -n marks the common-gender singular definite form, “the sauce.” For an indefinite singular noun, use en sauce (“a sauce”); for the plural definite form, use saucerne (“the sauces”). Together, Skal vi tilsætte de tørrede krydderurter tidligere asks whether “we” should add the dried herbs earlier. så introduces the intended result, “so that,” and de bliver bløde i saucen says that the herbs become soft in the sauce. In the supplied translation, de refers to the dried herbs, and the complete utterance means: “Should we add the dried herbs earlier so they soften in the sauce?”

4. Tilsæt dem tidligere, og brug mindre, fordi tørrede krydderurter kan smage kraftigere.

   Add them earlier and use less, because dried herbs can taste stronger.

   Tilsæt

   add

   dem

   them

   tidligere

   earlier

   brug

   use

   mindre

   less

   fordi

   because

   tørrede

   dried

   krydderurter

   herbs

   kan

   can

   smage

   taste

   kraftigere

   more strongly

   More detail

   Tilsæt is the imperative of tilsætte (“to add”). It gives a direct instruction. Danish imperatives commonly omit the subject: Tilsæt salt means “Add salt.” dem is the object form of the plural pronoun corresponding to “them”; its subject form is de. Here, the fixed translation and the preceding context support the dried herbs as its referent. Danish distinguishes this object form from the subject form, but dem itself does not show the herbs’ grammatical gender. tidligere means “earlier” here, referring to an earlier time in the process. It is the comparative form related to tidligt (“early”): tidligt → tidligere → tidligst (“earliest”). brug is the imperative of bruge (“to use”). It is another direct instruction. For example, Brug mindre salt means “Use less salt.” mindre is the comparative form meaning “less” when referring to an amount. The useful chain is lidt (“a little/some”) → mindre (“less”) → mindst (“least”). In this utterance, the thing whose amount is reduced is understood from the cooking instruction; the word itself expresses the comparison. fordi introduces the reason for the instructions and corresponds to “because.” It connects the instruction with the explanation that follows. tørrede means “dried” here and describes krydderurter. The adjective has the form tørret with an indefinite singular noun, but tørrede with a plural noun or in a definite noun phrase. Here it is plural because it describes plural herbs. krydderurter is the plural of the compound noun krydderurt (“herb”). The final -er marks this plural form. For example, friske krydderurter means “fresh herbs.” kan expresses possibility or ability, here meaning that the herbs may produce a stronger taste. It is a modal verb followed by an infinitive, so the next verb is not given a personal ending. Its present form is kan; the past form is kunne. smage is the infinitive “to taste.” After the modal kan, Danish uses this infinitive: kan smage means “can taste.” The same verb can also describe a person’s experience of flavor, as in Det smager godt (“It tastes good”). kraftigere is the comparative form used adverbially with smage, meaning “more strongly” or “more intensely.” The related adjective is kraftig (“strong”), with the adverb kraftigt and comparative kraftigere; kraftigst is the superlative. Thus, the comparison concerns the strength of the taste, not the physical size of the herbs. The first instruction follows the pattern imperative + object + comparative time adverb: add the herbs earlier. The second instruction gives a reduced amount. The fordi clause supplies the reason: dried herbs can taste more intensely. Together, the utterance advises adding the dried herbs earlier and using a smaller amount because their flavor may be stronger.

5. Opskriften siger også, at vi skal bruge fløde for at få en jævn konsistens.

   The recipe also says to use cream for a smooth texture.

   Opskriften

   the recipe

   siger

   says

   også

   also

   vi skal

   we are to

   bruge

   use

   fløde

   cream

   for at

   in order to

   få

   get

   jævn

   smooth

   konsistens

   texture

   More detail

   Opskriften means “the recipe” here. It is the definite singular form of opskrift (“recipe”): the ending -en marks a common-gender singular noun as definite. Danish also has opskrifter (“recipes”) and opskrifterne (“the recipes”), but those are plural forms. siger means “says” here. It is the present-tense form of sige (“to say”): sige → siger. Danish present forms generally do not change for the subject, so the same form can occur with different subjects. Example: Hun siger sandheden. — “She tells the truth.” også means “also” and adds this statement to another relevant statement or instruction. Its position immediately after siger makes the “also” apply to what the recipe says. vi skal expresses that “we are to” or “we should” do something here. skal is the present form of the modal verb skulle; with the subject vi (“we”), it is followed by an infinitive. In this recipe context, it presents the action as an instruction or requirement rather than merely a prediction about the future. bruge means “use” here. It is the infinitive of bruge, and it follows the modal skal without an infinitive marker. The pattern is skal + infinitive: Vi skal vente. — “We have to wait.” fløde means “cream.” It is a mass noun in this sentence, so no numerical amount is asserted by the form itself. bruge fløde means “use cream.” for at introduces a purpose clause, meaning “in order to.” It is followed by an infinitive and connects the use of cream with the intended result. få means “get” or “achieve” here. It is the infinitive of få; after for at, it remains in the infinitive. In for at få ..., the construction describes the result that the action is intended to produce. jævn means “smooth” or “even” here. It is an adjective modifying konsistens. Danish adjectives agree with the noun in relevant forms: jævn is the common-gender singular form, jævnt is used with a neuter singular noun, and jævne occurs with plural or definite noun phrases. Example: en jævn overflade — “a smooth surface.” konsistens means “texture” or “consistency” here. It is a common-gender noun, as shown by en konsistens (“a texture/consistency”). In this sentence it refers to the resulting quality of the mixture, not to a separate object. Together, Opskriften siger også means “The recipe also says,” and at vi skal bruge fløde introduces the content of what it says: “that we are to use cream.” The purpose clause for at få en jævn konsistens explains the intended result: “in order to get a smooth texture.” Thus the whole utterance means: “The recipe also says to use cream for a smooth texture.”

6. Hvis vi bruger yoghurt i stedet, bør vi skrue ned for varmen.

   If we use yogurt instead, we should lower the heat.

   Hvis vi

   if we

   bruger

   use

   yoghurt

   yogurt

   i stedet

   instead

   bør vi

   we should

   skrue ned

   turn down; lower

   varmen

   the heat

   More detail

   Hvis vi introduces a condition: “if we …”. Hvis is the usual conditional conjunction, and vi is the first-person plural pronoun, “we.” Example: Hvis vi venter, kommer han. — “If we wait, he will come.” bruger means “use” here. It is the present-tense form of bruge; the same form is used with different subjects in the present tense: jeg bruger, vi bruger, de bruger. Example: Vi bruger en ske. — “We use a spoon.” yoghurt is the noun “yogurt.” Its form does not show a plural ending here because the sentence refers to yogurt as an ingredient or substance. Example: Jeg køber yoghurt. — “I am buying yogurt.” i stedet is a fixed adverbial expression meaning “instead” or “in its place.” Here it contrasts using yogurt with the cream mentioned in the preceding recipe context. Example: Vi bruger mælk i stedet. — “We use milk instead.” bør vi expresses a recommendation or expectation: “we should.” Bør is the present form of the modal verb burde, and it is followed by the main verb in its infinitive form. Danish modal verbs do not take an infinitive marker before that following verb: Vi bør vente means “We should wait.” skrue ned is a reusable verb construction meaning to reduce a setting or level, especially heat, sound, or speed. The verb skrue literally relates to turning or adjusting; with ned, the construction means “turn down” or “lower.” Example: Skru ned for musikken. — “Turn down the music.” varmen means “the heat.” It is the definite form of varme, “heat,” formed with the ending -en. In this context, the heat is the cooking heat being adjusted; for belongs to the construction skrue ned for, which identifies what is lowered. Example: Vi skruer ned for varmen. — “We lower the heat.” Together, Hvis vi bruger yoghurt i stedet gives the condition “if we use yogurt instead.” The main clause bør vi skrue ned for varmen says that, under that condition, “we should lower the heat.” The complete utterance therefore means: “If we use yogurt instead, we should lower the heat.”

7. Ellers kan saucen skille og se mærkelig ud.

   Otherwise the sauce might separate and look strange.

   Ellers

   otherwise

   kan

   might; can

   saucen

   the sauce

   skille

   separate

   se … ud

   look …

   mærkelig

   strange; odd

   More detail

   Ellers means “otherwise” here: it presents the result that may happen if the preceding suggestion is not followed. It is a useful connector for an alternative consequence, not part of the meaning of the sauce or of either verb. kan is the modal verb “can” and, in this sentence, gives a possibility: “might.” Danish kan has the same form with different subjects; the surrounding subject identifies who or what is able to do something. After a modal such as kan, the following verb stays in the infinitive, as in kan skille. saucen means “the sauce.” The base noun is sauce; the ending -n marks the definite singular form, corresponding to “the sauce.” The form does not itself state how many sauces there are beyond its singular definite grammar. Danish also has saucer for plural “sauces” and saucerne for definite plural “the sauces.” skille means “separate” here, referring to the sauce losing its smooth unity. It is the infinitive after kan; the same form can occur after other modal verbs as well. Example: Mælken kan skille. — “The milk might separate.” se ... ud is a separable-looking verb construction meaning “look” or “appear.” In this sentence, se and ud are separated by the adjective: se mærkelig ud. The construction should be learned as a whole rather than as the ordinary meaning “see” plus an unrelated ud. mærkelig means “strange” or “odd” in this sentence. It describes how the sauce may appear. In se mærkelig ud, the adjective functions as a description after the verb, rather than as a noun modifier; compare the reusable pattern se træt ud — “look tired.” Together, Ellers introduces the alternative consequence, kan marks possibility, and saucen is the subject of both coordinated verb phrases. skille gives the first possible result, while se mærkelig ud gives the second: “Otherwise, the sauce might separate and look strange.”

8. Det burde hjælpe at røre det langsomt i til sidst.

   Stirring it in slowly near the end should help.

   Det

   it

   burde

   should

   hjælpe

   help

   røre

   stir

   det

   it

   langsomt

   slowly

   til sidst

   near the end

   More detail

   Det at the beginning is an anticipatory subject: it points forward to the action expressed by at røre ..., rather than identifying the thing being stirred. Danish uses det this way when a following clause is the content that is said to help. Example: Det er vigtigt at vente. — “It is important to wait.” burde is the modal form used for “should” or “ought to.” It is followed directly by an infinitive, here hjælpe; Danish does not add an English-style infinitive marker after this modal. Compare bør in present-time or general advice: Du bør vente. — “You should wait.” Burde presents the recommendation or expectation in the form used here. hjælpe is the infinitive “help.” Its base form is hjælpe, and after a modal such as burde it remains an infinitive: Det burde virke. — “It should work.” at røre is an infinitive clause, introduced by at, meaning “to stir.” The at belongs to the clause pattern, while røre is the verb itself. In this sentence the clause supplies the action that is expected to help. Example: Det er let at røre. — “It is easy to stir.” The second det is the object of røre, meaning “it” in the intended instruction. It is a different grammatical role from the first Det: the first is the anticipatory subject, while this one is what is stirred. The supplied sentence does not identify the object more specifically. langsomt describes how the stirring is done: “slowly.” It is the adverbial form related to the adjective langsom (“slow”); the -t form is used here to modify the action. Example: Rør langsomt. — “Stir slowly.” til sidst is a reusable time expression meaning “at the end” or “near the end.” It marks when the stirring should happen, not how it should happen. Example: Tilsæt salt til sidst. — “Add the salt at the end.” Together, Det burde hjælpe says that the action should be helpful. at røre det langsomt i til sidst identifies that action: stirring the object in slowly near the end. The full meaning is therefore: “Stirring it in slowly near the end should help.”

9. Hvis resultatet bliver godt, skriver jeg ned, hvad vi brugte i stedet.

   If the result turns out well, I will write down the substitution.

   resultatet

   the result

   godt

   good; well

   skriver … ned

   write down

   hvad

   what

   brugte

   used

   i stedet

   instead

   More detail

   resultatet is the definite form of resultat, meaning “the result” here. The ending -et marks a singular definite noun in this form; the indefinite form is et resultat. Danish definite marking can be attached to the noun rather than expressed by a separate word. godt is the neuter singular form of the adjective god because it describes resultatet, which is a neuter noun. In this clause, bliver godt means “turns out well” or “becomes good”: blive is followed by a description of the result. The same form godt can also function adverbially in other contexts, but here it agrees with the noun it describes. skriver ... ned is a separable verb construction meaning “write down.” The lexical verb is skrive (“write”); skriver is its present-tense form, and ned adds the idea of recording something in writing. In Danish, the particle can appear after the verb and its subject: Jeg skriver det ned. — “I write it down.” Danish present tense can also refer to a future action when the time is clear from the conditional situation, as it is here. hvad introduces the content that will be written down. In hvad vi brugte, it means “what,” referring to the substitution or alternative used in the situation. It introduces an embedded question/content clause, not a direct question requiring an answer in this sentence. brugte is the past-tense form of bruge, “use.” Its subject is vi (“we”) in the embedded clause, so hvad vi brugte means “what we used.” The past form places the use of the substitution before the later act of writing it down; it does not by itself identify exactly which people are included in vi. i stedet is a fixed adverbial expression meaning “instead.” It marks the alternative that was used in place of another option. For example, Vi brugte olie i stedet. means “We used oil instead.” Together, Hvis resultatet bliver godt sets up the condition “if the result turns out well.” The main clause skriver jeg ned says that I will write something down, and hvad vi brugte i stedet supplies the content: what we used instead. The complete utterance therefore means: “If the result turns out well, I will write down the substitution.” The comma separates the initial conditional clause from the main clause. This is a reusable Danish pattern: Hvis [condition], [main clause] — “If [condition], [main clause].”

10. Så behøver vi ikke gætte næste gang.

    Then next time we will not need to guess.

    Så

    then

    behøver vi ikke

    we do not need to

    gætte

    guess

    næste

    next

    gang

    time

    More detail

    Så means “then” here. It links this sentence to the condition mentioned previously: if the result turns out well, the consequence is that something will not be necessary next time. Depending on context, så can have other uses, but this sentence uses it to mark a consequence. behøver vi ikke expresses “we do not need to.” behøver is the present-tense form of behøve, “to need,” and vi is the subject “we.” ikke negates the need. Danish commonly places the subject after the finite verb in this kind of main clause when an initial element such as Så occupies the first position: Så behøver vi .... behøver is followed by the infinitive gætte, without an infinitive marker: behøver at gætte is not the pattern used here. The meaning is that guessing is unnecessary, not that guessing is forbidden. Example: Vi behøver ikke vente. — “We do not need to wait.” gætte means “to guess.” It is the infinitive form, and here it names the action that is unnecessary. The same form can be used after other verbs that take an infinitive, for example: Jeg vil gætte. — “I will guess.” næste means “next.” It describes the following occurrence in a sequence. In næste gang, it modifies the noun gang; næste is the form used here with this singular noun. A useful contrast is sidste gang, “last time.” gang means “time” in the sense of an occasion or instance, not a unit of clock time. The compact expression næste gang means “next time.” For example: Næste gang skriver jeg det ned. — “Next time I will write it down.” Together, Så behøver vi ikke gætte næste gang means “Then next time we will not need to guess.” The structure is: consequence marker + “we do not need” + infinitive action + time expression. The sentence says that guessing will be unnecessary on the next occasion.