Asking for clearer feedback on a proposal | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Feedbacken siger, at forslaget skal være stærkere, men det virker uklart.

   The feedback says the proposal should be stronger, but that feels vague.

   Feedbacken

   the feedback

   siger

   says

   forslaget

   the proposal

   skal være

   should be

   stærkere

   stronger

   det

   that; it

   virker

   seems; feels

   uklart

   vague; unclear

   More detail

   Feedbacken means “the feedback” here. feedback is used as a noun, and the ending -en marks singular definite form: feedback → feedbacken. Danish definite endings are attached to the noun rather than expressed by a separate word in this form. siger is the present-tense form of sige, “to say”: sige → siger. It presents the feedback as stating the following content. Example: Hun siger, at det er vigtigt. — “She says that it is important.” forslaget means “the proposal.” The base noun is forslag; the ending -et marks singular definite form: forslag → forslaget. The definite ending here belongs to the noun, not to stærkere. skal være combines present-tense skal with the infinitive være, “to be.” In this sentence, skal expresses what the proposal is expected or required to be according to the feedback, so skal være is naturally “should be.” The reusable pattern is skal + infinitive: Det skal fungere. — “It should work.” stærkere is the comparative of stærk, “strong”: stærk → stærkere (“stronger”). Danish comparative adjectives commonly have the -ere form, and stærkere does not take a separate gender or number ending here. It describes the requested degree of strength of forslaget. Example: Denne version er stærkere. — “This version is stronger.” det is the neuter singular pronoun “it” or “that.” In this sentence, the fixed translation supports a reference to the situation or assessment just expressed: that assessment feels vague. The pronoun’s grammatical form is separate from the exact referent; det can also refer to a neuter singular noun in other contexts. virker is the present-tense form of virke, “to seem” or “to appear.” With an adjective, virke describes how something comes across rather than asserting an objective identity: Det virker mærkeligt. — “It seems strange.” uklart means “vague” or “unclear” here. Its base form is uklar; uklart is the neuter singular form agreeing with det. The ending -t belongs to the adjective. Compare the common-gender form uklar: Planen er uklar. — “The plan is unclear.” Together, Feedbacken siger, at ... introduces the content of what the feedback says. Inside that clause, forslaget skal være stærkere says that the proposal should be stronger. men (“but”) contrasts this with det virker uklart: the stated assessment itself comes across as vague. The whole utterance therefore means: “The feedback says the proposal should be stronger, but that feels vague.”

2. Spørg, hvilken del der skal revideres: dokumentationen, tonen eller strukturen.

   Ask which part needs revision: the evidence, tone, or structure.

   Spørg

   ask

   hvilken del

   which part

   skal

   needs to / is to

   revideres

   be revised

   dokumentationen

   the documentation

   tonen

   the tone

   strukturen

   the structure

   More detail

   Spørg is the imperative of spørge (“to ask”). It addresses someone directly: “Ask …”. The ordinary present form is spørger, while spørg is the short command form. hvilken del means “which part”. hvilken is the singular common-gender form of the question word meaning “which”; its form agrees with del, a common-gender noun. For a neuter singular noun, Danish uses hvilket, and for plural nouns, hvilke. Example: Hvilken bog? — “Which book?” skal contributes “is to / needs to” here and is the present form of skulle. Together with the following passive form, it presents the revision as something that is required or needs to happen. skal is not itself the verb meaning “revise”. revideres means “be revised”. It is the passive form related to revidere (“to revise”); the ending -s marks the passive in this form. The person carrying out the revision is not specified. Example: Teksten skal revideres. — “The text needs to be revised.” dokumentationen means “the documentation”. It is the definite singular form of dokumentation: dokumentation → dokumentationen. Here it is the first item in the list of possible parts. tonen means “the tone”. It is the definite singular form of tone: tone → tonen. The definite ending identifies the noun as “the tone” in this utterance. strukturen means “the structure”. It is the definite singular form of struktur: struktur → strukturen. It is the final item in the list. The pattern Spørg, hvilken del der skal revideres is “Ask which part needs to be revised.” Danish uses der inside this embedded question to connect the clause describing which part; it does not add a separate English word in the fixed translation. The three noun phrases after the colon—dokumentationen, tonen and strukturen—are coordinated alternatives, so the complete utterance means: “Ask which part needs revision: the documentation, tone, or structure.”

3. Jeg tror, at indledningen måske ikke forklarer problemet tydeligt nok.

   I think the introduction may not explain the problem clearly enough.

   Jeg tror

   I think

   indledningen

   the introduction

   måske

   perhaps

   ikke

   not

   forklarer

   explains

   problemet

   the problem

   tydeligt

   clearly

   nok

   enough

   More detail

   Jeg tror means “I think.” Jeg is the first-person singular subject, “I,” and tror is the present-tense form of tro, “to think/believe.” In Danish, tror does not change for the subject’s person or number. The reusable pattern is Jeg tror, at ... = “I think that ...”; the comma introduces the following clause here. indledningen means “the introduction.” It is the definite singular form of indledning: en indledning = “an introduction,” indledningen = “the introduction.” The ending -en marks the definite form of this common-gender noun. måske means “perhaps/maybe.” It makes the statement uncertain rather than presenting it as certain. It can be placed before the rest of the clause, as here. ikke is the ordinary Danish negation “not.” In this sentence it negates the following description of what the introduction does: the introduction may not explain the problem clearly enough. forklarer means “explains.” It is the present-tense form of forklare, “to explain.” Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change according to person or number, so the same present form can be used with different subjects. Example: Hun forklarer reglen. — “She explains the rule.” problemet means “the problem.” It is the definite singular form of the neuter noun problem: et problem = “a problem,” problemet = “the problem.” The definite ending here is -et, not the -en used with indledningen. tydeligt means “clearly” here. It is the adverbial form related to the adjective tydelig, “clear.” It describes how the explanation is given, not the problem itself. Example: Han taler tydeligt. — “He speaks clearly.” nok means “enough” in this construction. tydeligt nok means “clearly enough”: the degree of clarity is presented as insufficient. The pattern [adverb/adjective] + nok is useful for expressing a sufficient degree, as in hurtigt nok = “quickly enough.” Together, Jeg tror, at introduces the speaker’s belief, indledningen is the subject of the subordinate clause, and forklarer problemet means “explains the problem.” The combination måske ikke ... tydeligt nok expresses uncertainty about a negative and insufficient result: “may not explain ... clearly enough.” The whole utterance is therefore: “I think the introduction may not explain the problem clearly enough.”

4. Så bed om et konkret eksempel på, hvad de gerne vil have ændret.

   Then ask for a specific example of what they want changed.

   Så

   then

   bed om

   ask for

   konkret

   specific

   eksempel

   example

   hvad

   what

   de

   they

   gerne

   would like to

   vil

   want to

   have

   have

   ændret

   changed

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links the utterance to a next step. At the beginning of a sentence, it can also mean “so,” but this sentence uses it to introduce the suggested action. bed om is the imperative of bede om, “to ask for.” The preposition om is part of this reusable verb construction: bede om noget means “ask for something.” Example: Bed om hjælp. — “Ask for help.” konkret describes eksempel and means “specific” or “concrete.” In et konkret eksempel, it has the form used with this singular neuter noun. The plural form is konkrete, as in konkrete eksempler — “specific examples.” eksempel means “example.” A useful pattern is et eksempel på ..., “an example of ...” or “an example showing ...”; på is explained by the complete phrase rather than by eksempel alone. hvad means “what” and introduces the content of the requested example: an example of what they want changed. In a direct question, Hvad vil de ændre? means “What do they want to change?” de is the third-person plural pronoun “they.” It is the subject of the subordinate clause. Danish de does not itself identify which people they are; the fixed translation supports the plural reading but does not specify the people further. gerne helps express a desired action with vil: vil gerne commonly means “would like to” or “want to.” Here it contributes to the meaning that they would like the thing changed; it is not an adjective meaning “willing.” vil is the present-tense form of ville. With gerne, vil gerne means “would like to.” Without gerne, vil can express “want to” or, in other contexts, “will.” Here the intended meaning is desire, not a prediction. have is the infinitive of have, “to have.” In have ændret, it forms the construction have noget ændret, meaning “have something changed” or “get something changed.” Thus the sentence presents the desired result, without separately stating who will carry out the change. ændret is the past participle of ændre, “to change.” Here it follows have in have ændret and describes the requested changed result. Do not treat ændret as the base form: the base verb is ændre. Example: De vil have planen ændret. — “They want the plan changed.” Together, bed om et konkret eksempel means “ask for a specific example.” The phrase på, hvad de gerne vil have ændret specifies what the example should concern: what they would like changed. The complete utterance therefore means: “Then ask for a specific example of what they want changed.”

5. Ville det lyde defensivt?

   Would that sound defensive?

   Ville det

   would that

   lyde

   sound

   defensivt

   defensive

   More detail

   Ville det begins a yes/no question. ville is the past-tense form of the verb ville, whose present-tense form is vil; in this construction, ville expresses “would”: Ville det ...? = “Would that ...?” The pronoun det is a neuter singular form meaning “it” or “that”; the fixed sentence does not identify a more specific referent. In a Danish question, the finite verb comes before the subject: Ville det ...? Example: Ville det hjælpe? — “Would that help?” lyde is the infinitive of lyder (“sounds”) and means “to sound” here. After the modal ville, Danish uses the infinitive: ville + lyde, not a finite form such as lyder. Example: Det ville lyde mærkeligt. — “That would sound strange.” defensivt is the neuter singular form of the adjective defensiv (“defensive”). It is neuter here because the adjective describes the neuter singular det; the adjective is not derived from lyde. The useful forms are defensiv with a common-gender singular noun, defensivt with a neuter singular noun, and defensive in the plural or definite forms. Example: Et svar lyder defensivt. — “An answer sounds defensive.” Together, Ville det + lyde + defensivt forms the question “Would that sound defensive?” The modal presents the sounding as a possible result, det refers to the relevant thing or wording without specifying it in this sentence, and defensivt describes how it would sound.

6. Ikke hvis du siger, at du gerne vil leve op til deres forventninger.

   Not if you say you want to match their expectations.

   Ikke hvis

   not if

   siger

   say

   gerne vil

   want to

   leve op til

   live up to; meet

   deres

   their

   forventninger

   expectations

   More detail

   Ikke hvis sets up a negative condition: “not if …”. It says that the result described or implied would not hold under the condition that follows. Danish hvis introduces a condition, and ikke negates the resulting statement. siger means “say” here. Its base form is sige; siger is the present-tense form used with du (“you”). For example, Du siger sandheden. means “You are telling the truth.” gerne vil expresses wanting or being willing to do something. vil is the present form of ville, and gerne adds the sense of gladly or with a desire to. The infinitive after vil is leve, not a separately conjugated form: du vil lære means “you want to learn.” In this sentence, gerne vil leve means “want to live.” leve op til is a fixed verb construction meaning to meet, fulfill, or live up to a standard or expectation. The verb leve by itself means “live,” but leve op til has this specialized meaning. The pattern leve op til + noget/nogen is reusable: Hun lever op til kravene. means “She meets the requirements.” deres means “their.” It is a possessive form referring to a third-person plural possessor. Unlike some Danish possessives, deres does not change according to the gender or number of the thing possessed; the following noun supplies its own form. forventninger means “expectations.” Its singular base form is forventning, and forventninger is the plural form. It is the object of leve op til: the expectations are the standard being met. For example, Hans arbejde lever op til mine forventninger. means “His work meets my expectations.” Together, du siger, at ... introduces the content of what you say: “you say that …”. Inside that clause, du gerne vil leve op til deres forventninger means “you want to meet their expectations.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Not if you say you want to match their expectations.”

7. Jeg kan spørge, om de vil have flere data eller en mere selvsikker tone.

   I can ask whether they want more data or a more confident tone.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   spørge

   ask

   om

   whether

   de vil have

   they want

   flere

   more

   data

   data

   mere selvsikker

   more confident

   tone

   tone

   More detail

   Jeg kan expresses “I can.” kan is the present form of kunne and marks ability or possibility here. Danish modal verbs are followed directly by an infinitive: Jeg kan spørge (“I can ask”), without at before spørge. spørge means “ask” here. It is the infinitive; the present form is spørger. Example: Jeg spørger ham. — “I ask him.” om introduces an indirect yes-or-no question and means “whether” here. The reusable pattern is spørge, om ...: Hun spørger, om vi kommer. — “She asks whether we are coming.” de vil have means “they want” in this sentence. de is the third-person plural pronoun “they.” vil is the present form of ville, and have is the infinitive that follows it. Together, vil have expresses wanting something here; have can also mean “have” or “possess” in other constructions. Example: De vil have kaffe. — “They want coffee.” flere means “more” before data, indicating an increased amount here. With plural countable items, the corresponding comparison is often flere (“more”) versus færre (“fewer”). Example: Vi har brug for flere oplysninger. — “We need more information.” data means “data” here, referring to information or collected facts. Its precise role is supplied by the surrounding sentence: it is one of the two things the other people may want. mere selvsikker means “more confident.” selvsikker is the adjective “confident,” and its comparative is formed analytically with mere: selvsikker → mere selvsikker. This describes a greater degree of confidence. Example: Hun lyder mere selvsikker nu. — “She sounds more confident now.” tone means “tone,” here referring to the manner or quality of expression. Tone is a common-gender noun: en tone; its plural is toner. Thus en mere selvsikker tone means “a more confident tone.” The sentence combines Jeg kan spørge (“I can ask”) with the indirect question om de vil have flere data eller en mere selvsikker tone (“whether they want more data or a more confident tone”). The full meaning is: “I can ask whether they want more data or a more confident tone.”

8. Det giver dem to klare retninger at vælge imellem.

   That gives them two clear directions to choose from.

   Det

   that; it

   giver

   gives

   dem

   them

   to

   two

   klare

   clear

   retninger

   directions

   at

   to

   vælge

   choose

   imellem

   from; between

   More detail

   Det is a neuter singular pronoun used here as the subject meaning “that” or “it.” The fixed translation supports a demonstrative reading: it points to something already established, without identifying a more specific referent. Danish subject pronouns include det for neuter singular reference and den for common-gender singular reference; this choice is grammatical and does not itself identify what “that” is. giver is the present-tense form of give. Danish present tense commonly uses the same verb form with different subjects: jeg giver means “I give,” while det giver means “it gives.” A useful pattern is give nogen noget, “give someone something”; in this sentence, dem is the recipient and to klare retninger is what they are given. dem means “them” as an object pronoun. It is the object form corresponding to subject de, as in De hjælper dem (“They help them”). Here it refers to the people identified as “them” by the fixed translation; the sentence does not specify their individual identities. to is the numeral “two.” It states the number of retninger; it is not an article or merely an indefinite marker. Danish cardinal numerals normally do not change for the gender or number of the noun they count. klare means “clear” here and describes retninger. Its base form is klar; the form chain is klar (common-gender singular), klart (neuter singular), and klare (plural or definite forms). Because retninger is plural, the adjective has the plural form klare. retninger is the plural form of the noun retning, “direction.” retning is an indefinite singular form, while retninger is indefinite plural. In this sentence, it means two clear directions, matching the fixed translation. at is the infinitive marker “to” in this sentence. It introduces vælge, so at vælge means “to choose.” This is different from the finite present-tense form vælger; the infinitive does not show present tense or subject agreement here. vælge is the infinitive “choose.” Its base form is vælge; for example, De kan vælge means “They can choose.” In the supplied sentence, at vælge is part of the phrase describing what the directions are available for. imellem means “between” or, in the construction vælge imellem, “from among.” Together, vælge imellem expresses choosing between available alternatives. The two parts are separated in the sentence, so vælge and imellem are taught as separate entries while their construction is explained together. Putting the chunks together, Det giver dem means “That gives them,” to klare retninger means “two clear directions,” and at vælge imellem means “to choose from.” The complete meaning is that the stated “that” provides them with two clear directions as alternatives available for their choice.

9. Når jeg kender retningen, kan jeg hurtigt revidere forslaget.

   Once I know the direction, I can revise it quickly.

   Når

   when

   kender

   know

   retningen

   the direction

   kan jeg

   I can

   hurtigt

   quickly

   revidere

   revise

   forslaget

   the proposal

   More detail

   Når means “when” and introduces a time condition or recurring circumstance. In this sentence, Når jeg kender retningen means “once/when I know the direction”; it does not itself express a question. A useful pattern is Når + subject + verb, .... kender is the present form of kende, “to know/be familiar with.” Here it describes the state of knowing the direction. Example: Jeg kender byen. — “I know the city / I am familiar with the city.” retningen is the definite singular form of retning, “direction.” The ending -en marks the definite form here: en retning = “a direction,” retningen = “the direction.” kan jeg combines kan, the present form of the modal verb kunne (“can/be able to”), with jeg, “I.” After the initial subordinate clause, Danish places the finite verb before the subject in the main clause: kan jeg ... = “I can ...”. The modal is followed by an infinitive without at, as in Jeg kan komme. — “I can come.” hurtigt means “quickly” and describes how the revision is carried out. It is the form of hurtig used here as an adverb. Compare en hurtig løsning — “a quick solution” with Hun arbejder hurtigt. — “She works quickly.” revidere is the infinitive “to revise.” With kan, it follows the modal directly: kan revidere = “can revise.” In this sentence, the fixed translation establishes that the intended object is the proposal mentioned next. forslaget is the definite singular form of forslag, “proposal.” The ending -et marks this noun’s definite form: et forslag = “a proposal,” forslaget = “the proposal.” The translation’s “it” refers to this proposal, not to an unspecified object. Together, Når jeg kender retningen sets the condition or time—“once I know the direction.” The main clause kan jeg hurtigt revidere forslaget says “I can revise the proposal quickly.” The complete utterance is therefore: “Once I know the direction, I can revise it quickly.”

10. Klar vejledning kan spare os for unødvendige omskrivninger.

    Clear guidance can save unnecessary rewriting.

    Klar

    clear

    vejledning

    guidance

    kan

    can

    spare

    save

    os

    us

    unødvendige

    unnecessary

    omskrivninger

    rewrites; rewriting tasks

    More detail

    Klar means “clear” here. It is the adjective related to klar “clear/ready”; in this sentence it describes vejledning, so it has the common-gender singular indefinite form. Danish adjectives change according to the noun’s grammatical form: compare klar vejledning with plural klare vejledninger and neuter singular klart ... when required by the noun. Vejledning means “guidance” or “instructions” here. It is a noun referring to help or direction, not the act of rewriting. Example: Jeg har brug for vejledning. — “I need guidance.” Kan means “can” and expresses possibility or ability. It is the present-tense form of kunne; Danish kan does not change according to the subject’s person or number. Example: Vi kan begynde nu. — “We can begin now.” Spare means “save” in the sense of preventing someone from having to undergo or use something. It is the infinitive after the modal kan; the modal carries the finite tense, while spare remains in the infinitive. A useful pattern is spare nogen for noget — “save someone from something.” Os means “us.” It is the object form of the first-person plural pronoun; the corresponding subject form is vi (“we”). Here os is the people who are spared, while the guidance is the thing that can produce that benefit. Unødvendige means “unnecessary.” It modifies omskrivninger and has the plural form required by that noun. Its base form is unødvendig (“unnecessary”); unødvendige is used with plural nouns and also in definite noun phrases. Example: Det er unødvendige ændringer. — “Those are unnecessary changes.” Omskrivninger means “rewrites” or “rewriting tasks.” It is the plural of the noun omskrivning, which is related to the verb omskrive (“rewrite”). The plural presents the rewriting tasks as multiple or generally recurring, without specifying their exact number. Example: Vi undgår flere omskrivninger. — “We avoid several rewrites.” Together, Klar vejledning is the subject: “clear guidance.” kan spare os for gives the reusable pattern “can save us from,” and unødvendige omskrivninger names what can be avoided. The whole utterance means: “Clear guidance can save us from unnecessary rewriting.”