Getting help with a hotel room heating problem | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg ringer fra mit værelse, fordi varmen ikke virker.

   I am calling from my room because the heating is not working.

   Jeg

   I

   ringer

   call

   fra

   from

   mit

   my

   værelse

   room

   fordi

   because

   varmen

   the heating

   ikke

   not

   virker

   works

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here, the first-person singular subject. Danish uses jeg for the speaker; the verb form after it is ringer, not a special verb form marked for gender. ringer is the present-tense form of ringe, “to call” in this context. The present can describe an action happening now: Jeg ringer = “I am calling.” Example: Hun ringer nu. — “She is calling now.” fra introduces the place or source something comes from: “from.” Here it introduces the caller’s location. Example: Jeg skriver fra kontoret. — “I am writing from the office.” mit means “my” before the neuter singular noun værelse. Danish possessive forms agree with the possessed noun: mit is used with a neuter singular noun, while min is used with a common-gender singular noun and mine with plural nouns. The form expresses possession, not a numeric count. værelse means “room.” Its indefinite form is et værelse (“a room”), while the definite form is værelset (“the room”). In this utterance, værelse remains indefinite after mit: mit værelse means “my room.” fordi introduces the reason for the main clause: “because.” It begins the subordinate clause varmen ikke virker, which explains why the speaker is calling. varmen means “the heating” here. It is the definite form of varme, “heating” or “heat” in this use: varme → varmen. The ending -en marks the definite form for this noun. The fixed translation identifies the intended sense as the heating system or heating, rather than temperature in general. ikke means “not” and supplies the negation in the subordinate clause. It negates the statement that the heating works; it does not negate the reason word fordi. virker is the present-tense form of virke, “to work” or “function.” With varmen, it says that the heating is not functioning. Example: Lampen virker ikke. — “The lamp does not work.” Together, Jeg ringer fra mit værelse means “I am calling from my room.” fordi varmen ikke virker adds the reason: “because the heating is not working.” The full utterance is therefore “I am calling from my room because the heating is not working.”

2. Det beklager jeg. Har værelset været koldt, siden du ankom?

   I am sorry about that. Has the room been cold since you arrived?

   Det

   that

   beklager

   am sorry about; regret

   jeg

   I

   Har

   has

   værelset

   the room

   været

   been

   koldt

   cold

   siden

   since

   du

   you

   ankom

   arrived

   More detail

   Det means “that” here and refers to the situation being discussed. Danish det is a neuter singular pronoun; its grammatical form does not by itself identify a more specific referent. beklager is the present form of beklage, “to regret” or “to be sorry about.” Danish verbs do not change for person, so the same present form can occur with different subjects. In Det beklager jeg, Det is placed first and jeg is the subject: “I am sorry about that.” jeg is the first-person singular pronoun, “I.” It is the person expressing the regret in the first sentence. Har is the present form of have, “to have,” used here as an auxiliary. In a yes/no question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Har værelset ...? This begins a present-perfect question. værelset is the definite singular form of værelse, “room”: et værelse = “a room,” værelset = “the room.” Here the final -t is the definite suffix; the neuter gender is shown by the indefinite article et in et værelse, not by a separate gender ending in værelset. været is the past participle of være, “to be.” Together with har, har været forms the present perfect, relating an earlier state to the present: “has been.” koldt is the neuter singular form of the adjective kold, “cold.” It agrees with the neuter noun værelset in the description “the room has been cold.” Useful forms include kold with common-gender singular nouns, koldt with neuter singular nouns, and kolde in plural or definite attributive contexts. siden means “since” here and introduces the time from which the condition has continued. It can be followed by a clause, as in siden du ankom = “since you arrived.” du is the second-person singular pronoun, “you.” It is the subject of the clause after siden. ankom is the past form of ankomme, “to arrive.” Danish past-tense verbs do not change for person, so ankom can be used with jeg, du, or another subject. Example: Jeg ankom i går means “I arrived yesterday.” Together, Har værelset været koldt asks whether the room has had the condition of being cold up to the relevant present. siden du ankom sets the starting point at the listener’s arrival. The complete utterance therefore means: “Has the room been cold since you arrived?”

3. Det har været koldt, siden jeg tjekkede ind i eftermiddag.

   It has been cold since I checked in this afternoon.

   Det har været

   It has been

   koldt

   cold

   siden

   since

   jeg

   I

   tjekkede ind

   checked in

   i eftermiddag

   this afternoon

   More detail

   Det har været forms the perfect construction “it has been.” har is the present-tense auxiliary of have, and været is the past participle of være (“to be”). Together they describe a state viewed from the present. Here det is the subject form used in the statement “it has been cold”; the supplied sentence does not require treating it specifically as a weather expression. koldt means “cold” here. It is the neuter form of the adjective kold, used in this expression with det. Compare Det er koldt (“It is cold”) with Det er varmt (“It is warm”). The adjective describes the condition; it does not carry the perfect tense. siden means “since” when it introduces a time clause. It connects the current state with the point at which the following event happened. jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I.” It is the person who carries out the action in the clause after siden. A useful contrast is du (“you”). tjekkede ind means “checked in.” tjekkede is the past-tense form of tjekke, “to check,” and ind is the particle that makes the reusable expression tjekke ind (“check in”). Danish past-tense verbs such as tjekkede do not change form according to whether the subject is jeg or du; the pronoun identifies the subject. Example: Jeg tjekkede ind i går. — “I checked in yesterday.” i eftermiddag means “this afternoon” in this sentence. i is part of this time expression, and eftermiddag means “afternoon.” It specifies when the check-in occurred. Example: Vi mødes i eftermiddag. — “We are meeting this afternoon.” As a whole, Det har været koldt states that it has been cold, and siden jeg tjekkede ind i eftermiddag sets the starting point for that condition: the speaker checked in this afternoon, and the coldness has continued from then up to the present reference point. Thus the complete utterance means: “It has been cold since I checked in this afternoon.”

4. Jeg kan sende en medarbejder fra vedligeholdelsen op for at undersøge det med det samme.

   I can send maintenance to inspect it right away.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   sende

   send

   medarbejder

   employee

   vedligeholdelsen

   maintenance

   op

   up

   for at

   in order to

   undersøge

   inspect

   det

   it

   med det samme

   right away

   More detail

   Jeg kan combines the first-person pronoun jeg (“I”) with kan, the present form of kunne (“can; be able to”). In Danish, kan does not change for person or number in the present. A modal such as kan is followed directly by an infinitive: Jeg kan sende means “I can send,” not a form with at before sende. sende is the infinitive “to send.” Its past form is sendte, and its past participle is sendt. Here it takes a person as its object: sende en medarbejder means “send an employee.” medarbejder means “employee” or “staff member.” The form is singular and indefinite in en medarbejder; the definite singular is medarbejderen, and the plural is medarbejdere. The article en marks the noun phrase as indefinite; it does not by itself add a numerical emphasis. vedligeholdelsen means “the maintenance” here, referring to the maintenance service or staff. It is the definite form of vedligeholdelse: vedligeholdelse = “maintenance,” vedligeholdelsen = “the maintenance.” The phrase fra vedligeholdelsen therefore identifies the employee as coming from or belonging to maintenance. op is a directional particle meaning “up.” With sende, sende ... op presents the person as being sent upward or up to the relevant place. The exact destination is not stated in this sentence. for at introduces purpose when it is followed by an infinitive. The pattern sende nogen for at gøre noget means “send someone in order to do something.” undersøge means “to inspect,” “examine,” or “investigate.” It is an infinitive after for at: for at undersøge = “in order to inspect.” For example, De kommer for at undersøge problemet. means “They are coming to inspect the problem.” det is a neuter singular pronoun. In this sentence it means “it,” referring to the thing that needs inspection; the supplied sentence does not identify that thing more specifically. Danish pronouns are selected partly by the grammatical form of their referent, but det itself does not identify the referent. med det samme is a fixed adverbial expression meaning “right away” or “immediately.” It modifies the timing of the inspection arrangement: the sending is to happen without delay. For example, Jeg kommer med det samme. means “I’ll come right away.” Together, Jeg kan sende en medarbejder fra vedligeholdelsen op says “I can send an employee from maintenance up.” for at undersøge det gives the purpose, “in order to inspect it,” and med det samme adds the immediate timing. The complete meaning is: “I can send maintenance to inspect it right away.”

5. Hvis det ikke kan repareres i aften, er der så et andet værelse ledigt?

   If it cannot be fixed tonight, is another room available?

   Hvis

   if

   det

   it

   kan

   can

   repareres

   be repaired

   i aften

   tonight

   er der

   is there

   så

   then

   andet

   another

   værelse

   room

   ledigt

   available

   More detail

   Hvis introduces a condition: “if …”. It is reusable at the start of a clause, for example: Hvis du har tid, kan vi mødes. — “If you have time, we can meet.” det means “it” here and refers to the thing that maintenance may inspect or repair, as supported by the surrounding context. It is a singular neuter pronoun. The form is not a general substitute for every pronoun: Danish uses other forms for other grammatical categories and roles. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can / be able to”. It expresses possibility or ability and is followed here by the infinitive-like form repareres: kan + verb. For example, Det kan vente. means “It can wait.” repareres means “be repaired”. It is the passive form of reparere, “repair”, marked here with -s. The passive presents the object being repaired rather than naming the person who repairs it. Compare active De kan reparere det — “They can repair it” — with passive Det kan repareres — “It can be repaired.” i aften means “tonight”, locating the possible repair in this evening. It is a time expression that can be reused without changing for the subject: Vi kommer i aften. — “We are coming tonight.” er der is the Danish existential pattern “is there / are there”. The verb er is the present form of være, “be”, and der functions as the existential subject marker in this pattern. In a question, it can appear as Er der et problem? — “Is there a problem?” så means “then” here. It links the question to the condition: if repair is not possible tonight, what follows is the relevant next option. In other contexts, så can have other functions, but here it marks that consequence or next step. andet means “another” and modifies værelse. The adjective is in its neuter singular form because værelse is singular and neuter. Its base form is anden; common forms are anden with common-gender singular nouns, andet with neuter singular nouns, and andre in the plural. For example, et andet problem means “another problem”, while en anden mulighed means “another possibility”. værelse means “room”. It is a singular neuter noun, as shown by the article et in the complete phrase et andet værelse. The plural is værelser, as in flere værelser — “several rooms.” ledigt means “available” here, specifically available for use or assignment. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective ledig; ledig is used with common-gender singular nouns, ledigt with neuter singular nouns, and ledige with plural nouns. For example, Et bord er ledigt. means “A table is available.” Together, Hvis det ikke kan repareres i aften forms the condition “If it cannot be repaired tonight”: ikke negates the modal-plus-passive verb group kan repareres. The question er der så et andet værelse ledigt? then asks whether another room is available as the resulting alternative. The complete meaning is: “If it cannot be fixed tonight, is another room available?”

6. Jeg tjekker, hvilke værelser der er ledige, og reserverer et lignende værelse, hvis vi har et.

   I will check availability and hold a similar room if we have one.

   tjekker

   check

   hvilke

   which

   værelser

   rooms

   der er

   there are

   ledige

   available

   reserverer

   reserve

   lignende

   similar

   værelse

   room

   hvis vi har et

   if we have one

   More detail

   tjekker is the present-tense form of tjekke, “to check.” With Jeg, it means “I check”; in this utterance, the fixed translation gives it a planned-future reading, “I will check.” Danish present forms do not change for the person of the subject here. Example: Jeg tjekker reservationen. — “I am checking the reservation.” hvilke means “which” when the selected items are plural. The useful contrast is hvilken for a common-gender singular noun, hvilket for a neuter singular noun, and hvilke for plural nouns. Here it modifies plural værelser, so hvilke værelser means “which rooms.” værelser means “rooms” and is the plural of the neuter noun værelse. The basic pattern is et værelse — “a room,” værelser — “rooms,” and værelset — “the room.” The plural form is important because it matches hvilke and ledige in the embedded question. der er is the Danish “there is/there are” construction. In hvilke værelser der er ledige, it introduces the information about which rooms are available; the whole embedded clause means “which rooms are available.” This is not the main question word order of a standalone question; it is the word order inside the clause after hvilke værelser. ledige means “available” here, specifically available for use or booking. It is the plural form of the adjective ledig, agreeing with plural værelser. Compare et værelse er ledigt — “a room is available” — with værelserne er ledige — “the rooms are available.” The neuter singular form is ledigt, while the plural form seen here is ledige. reserverer is the present-tense form of reservere, “to reserve.” The subject is still Jeg, carried over from the first coordinated verb: Jeg tjekker ... og reserverer ... means “I check ... and reserve ...” or, in this planned context, “I will check ... and reserve ...” Example: Jeg reserverer et bord. — “I am reserving a table.” lignende means “similar” in et lignende værelse. This adjective has the same form with a neuter singular noun and with plural nouns: et lignende værelse — “a similar room,” and lignende værelser — “similar rooms.” Its meaning here is similarity to a room already relevant in the situation, without specifying exactly which features are shared. værelse means “room” in the singular. In et lignende værelse, it is a neuter singular noun, which is why the indefinite article is et; et does not by itself assert a numerical count. The noun’s plural is værelser, as in the earlier embedded question. hvis vi har et means “if we have one.” hvis introduces a condition, vi is the first-person plural subject “we,” and har is the present form of have, “to have.” The final et is a neuter singular pronoun referring to an understood neuter item such as a værelse; it is not an article before an expressed noun. Example: Vi tager et værelse, hvis vi har et. — “We will take a room if we have one.” The utterance first says Jeg tjekker, then specifies what is being checked: hvilke værelser der er ledige, “which rooms are available.” After og, the same subject performs the second action, reserverer et lignende værelse, “reserve a similar room.” The condition hvis vi har et limits that reservation to the case where we have one. Together, the fixed meaning is: “I will check availability and hold a similar room if we have one.”

7. Jeg har ikke brug for en opgradering, bare et varmt værelse at sove i.

   I do not need an upgrade, just a warm room for sleeping.

   har ikke brug for

   do not need

   opgradering

   upgrade

   bare

   just

   varmt

   warm

   værelse

   room

   sove

   sleep

   More detail

   har ikke brug for means “do not need” here. The base verb is have; har is its present-tense form. brug for is a fixed Danish pattern meaning “need,” and ikke negates the construction. A reusable pattern is jeg har brug for ... (“I need ...”) versus jeg har ikke brug for ... (“I do not need ...”). opgradering is a noun meaning “upgrade.” The preceding en is the indefinite article used with this common-gender singular noun; it presents the upgrade as unspecified, without by itself asserting a numerical count. The noun’s plural form is opgraderinger. bare means “just” in this sentence. It narrows the request to the simpler alternative that follows: not an upgrade, but a warm room. varmt means “warm” and describes værelse in et varmt værelse. Danish adjectives agree with the noun’s grammatical gender and number: varm is the common-gender singular form, while varmt is the neuter singular form used with et-nouns. For example, et varmt rum means “a warm room.” værelse means “room.” It is a neuter noun, shown by the indefinite article et in et værelse. Its plural is værelser, as in flere værelser (“several rooms”). sove means “sleep.” It is the infinitive form, used after at: at sove means “to sleep.” In et varmt værelse at sove i, the final i belongs to the meaning “sleep in”: Danish can place this preposition at the end of the infinitive phrase. The pattern et sted at ... can similarly mean “a place to ...”; for example, et sted at hvile means “a place to rest.” Together, Jeg har ikke brug for en opgradering says “I do not need an upgrade.” bare introduces the preferred alternative, et varmt værelse at sove i, “just a warm room for sleeping” or more literally “just a warm room to sleep in.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I do not need an upgrade, just a warm room for sleeping.”

8. Vi prøver først at reparere det og holder et andet værelse klar, hvis det bliver nødvendigt.

   We will try the repair first and keep another room ready if needed.

   Vi

   we

   prøver

   try

   først

   first

   at reparere

   to repair

   det

   it

   holder

   keep

   andet

   another

   værelse

   room

   klar

   ready

   hvis

   if

   bliver

   becomes

   nødvendigt

   necessary

   More detail

   Vi means “we” and is the subject form used for a speaker together with at least one other participant. The sentence therefore presents the actions as performed by “we.” prøver is the present-tense form of prøve, “try.” Danish present forms commonly end in -r: prøve → prøver. Here it introduces an attempt, followed by an action with at. først means “first” and places the repair attempt before the other action in the sentence. It is a useful time-ordering adverb: først ..., så ... means “first ..., then ...”. at reparere is the infinitive “to repair.” at marks the infinitive, and reparere is the verb’s base form. After prøver, the pattern prøve at + infinitive means “try to do something.” For example, Jeg prøver at ringe means “I am trying to call.” det is a neuter singular pronoun functioning here as the object of reparere; the fixed translation supports “it.” Its exact real-world referent is not identified in the supplied texts, so the pronoun’s grammatical role is clearer than the noun it refers to. holder is the present-tense form of holde, “keep” or “hold.” In holder ... klar, it expresses maintaining something in a ready state. The present form can describe the planned or ongoing action in this sentence; English uses “will keep” in the fixed translation. andet means “another” here and modifies the neuter singular noun værelse. The form is related to anden (“another/second”): anden is used with common-gender singular nouns, while andet is the neuter singular form. This is not a statement that there are exactly two rooms; it introduces a different additional room. værelse means “room.” It is a neuter noun, normally used with et, as in et værelse. In this sentence it is the object being kept ready. For example, et stort værelse means “a large room.” klar means “ready” and describes the state in which the room is to be kept. In the construction holde noget klar, it is a predicative complement describing the object’s maintained state. Danish adjective forms can show agreement in other positions, for example et klart værelse uses neuter klart; the supplied construction uses klar. hvis introduces a condition and means “if.” The material after it states the condition under which the preceding plan applies. It is not the same as a time word such as “when”: hvis presents the situation as conditional. bliver is the present-tense form of blive, “become” or “get.” Here it combines with nødvendigt in the expression bliver nødvendigt, “becomes necessary.” nødvendigt means “necessary” in its neuter singular form. Its base/common-gender form is nødvendig; compare en nødvendig ændring (“a necessary change”) with et nødvendigt valg (“a necessary choice”). In hvis det bliver nødvendigt, the expression means “if it becomes necessary” or, as translated here, “if needed.” The det in this subordinate clause is a neuter singular grammatical subject; the sentence does not identify a separate noun that it refers to. Together, Vi prøver først at reparere det means “We will try to repair it first.” Then og holder et andet værelse klar adds the coordinated plan to keep another room ready. Finally, hvis det bliver nødvendigt limits that second plan to the condition that it becomes necessary. The complete meaning is: “We will try the repair first and keep another room ready if needed.”

9. Ring venligst, før medarbejderen fra vedligeholdelsen kommer op.

   Please call before maintenance comes up.

   Ring

   call

   venligst

   please

   før

   before

   medarbejderen

   the employee

   vedligeholdelsen

   maintenance

   kommer op

   comes up

   More detail

   Ring is the imperative of ringe (“to call”). The imperative gives a direct instruction: Ring! means “Call!” A useful contrast is Jeg ringer (“I call/I am calling”), where ringer is the present-tense form used with jeg. venligst is a polite word meaning “please.” It softens the instruction without changing who is being asked to call. Example: Vent venligst. — “Please wait.” før introduces a time clause and means “before.” It connects one event to an event that must happen later: Ring, før hun kommer. — “Call before she comes.” medarbejderen means “the employee” here. medarbejder is the indefinite form “an employee,” while the ending -en makes it definite: medarbejderen — “the employee.” The form is singular definite; it does not by itself identify the employee beyond what the context supplies. vedligeholdelsen means “the maintenance” or, naturally here, “maintenance.” Its base noun is vedligeholdelse (“maintenance”), and the ending -n marks the definite form. This is a noun naming the relevant service or activity, not the employee. kommer op means “comes up” in this sentence. kommer is the present-tense form of komme (“to come”), and op is a separate directional particle meaning “up.” In the time clause, the present form refers to the event that is expected to happen after the call. Example: Hun kommer op senere. — “She is coming up later.” Together, Ring venligst is a polite request to call. før places that call earlier than medarbejderen fra vedligeholdelsen kommer op: the employee from maintenance comes up afterward. Thus the whole utterance means, “Please call before the maintenance employee comes up.”

10. Jeg ringer til dig, før medarbejderen kommer op, og igen når jeg har en opdatering.

    I will call you before they come up and again when I have an update.

    Jeg

    I

    ringer

    call

    til dig

    to you

    før

    before

    medarbejderen

    the employee

    kommer op

    comes up

    igen

    again

    når

    when

    har

    have

    opdatering

    update

    More detail

    Jeg means “I” here. It is the first-person singular subject pronoun. Danish also uses jeg with present-tense verb forms regardless of whether the situation is present or planned. ringer is the present form of ringe, “to call.” In this sentence, the present form refers to a planned future call, which is why the fixed translation uses “will call.” The useful pattern is jeg ringer = “I call / I will call,” with the time context deciding the English rendering. til dig means “to you.” dig is the second-person singular object form of du (“you”); til links the call to its recipient. For example, Jeg ringer til dig i morgen. means “I will call you tomorrow.” før introduces the time clause “before.” The material after it describes the event that must happen later than the call. This is a reusable pattern: før + clause, as in Ring, før du går. — “Call before you leave.” medarbejderen means “the employee.” It is the definite singular form of medarbejder, “employee”; the ending -en marks common-gender definite singular. The fixed translation renders the participant with singular “they,” but the Danish noun itself identifies an employee, not the employee’s gender. kommer op means “comes up” here. kommer is the present form of komme, “to come,” and op adds the upward or “up” direction. Together they form a useful movement expression: komme op = “come up.” For example, Hun kommer op senere. means “She is coming up later.” igen means “again.” It indicates that the calling described in the second coordinated part is an additional call, not the first one. It modifies the surrounding action rather than the noun opdatering. når introduces the time clause “when.” Unlike før, it presents the condition or time at which the other event occurs: Jeg ringer, når jeg er klar. means “I will call when I am ready.” har is the present form of have, “to have.” Here it agrees with the first-person singular subject jeg: jeg har = “I have.” Danish present forms do not add a separate first-person ending in this construction. For example, Jeg har en besked. means “I have a message.” opdatering means “update.” It is the singular noun form of opdatering; in the full sentence, en opdatering means “an update,” with en as the indefinite article. The quote contains only the noun, so the article is not part of this entry. The combination har en opdatering means “have an update.” The sentence first gives Jeg ringer til dig — “I will call you.” før medarbejderen kommer op sets the first call before the employee comes up. After og, igen marks another call, and når jeg har en opdatering sets that second call for when the speaker has an update. Together, the utterance means: “I will call you before they come up and again when I have an update.”