Resolving a Small Disagreement at Work | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg tror, vi er uenige, fordi vi gjorde os forskellige antagelser.

   I think we disagree because we made different assumptions.

   Jeg tror

   I think

   uenige

   in disagreement

   gjorde

   made

   os

   ourselves

   forskellige

   different

   antagelser

   assumptions

   More detail

   Jeg tror means “I think.” tror is the present-tense form of tro (“to think/believe”); Danish present tense does not change for the subject, so the same form can occur with other subjects. For example, Hun tror det means “She thinks so.” Jeg is the first-person singular subject, “I.” uenige means “in disagreement.” It is the plural form of the adjective uenig (“disagreeing” or “not in agreement”), matching vi (“we”) in this sentence. The prefix u- makes a negative contrast with enig (“in agreement”): enig / uenig. Here the adjective describes the participants as a group rather than expressing a permanent personal trait. gjorde means “made” here. It is the past-tense form of gøre (“to make/do”); Danish past tense does not mark person or number, so gjorde can be used with singular or plural subjects. In this construction, gøre sig antagelser is a reusable expression meaning “make assumptions.” os means “ourselves” here. It is the first-person plural reflexive form, used because the people represented by vi are also the ones affected by the action: vi ... os. Reflexive forms refer back to the subject; for example, De vasker sig means “They wash themselves.” forskellige means “different.” It is the form used with the plural noun antagelser; the adjective does not itself mean “assumptions.” A useful contrast is samme (“same”): forskellige antagelser means “different assumptions,” whereas de samme antagelser means “the same assumptions.” antagelser means “assumptions.” It is the plural of antagelse. The singular is en antagelse, and the plural is antagelser. In the utterance, this noun is the object of the expression gøre sig antagelser, while forskellige specifies that the assumptions were not the same. The remaining linking words connect these pieces: fordi introduces the reason, and the second vi supplies the subject of that reason clause. The first part states the speaker’s view that the participants are not in agreement; the clause introduced by fordi explains that this is because they made assumptions that differed. Together, the utterance expresses the fixed meaning “I think we disagree because we made different assumptions.”

2. Jeg troede, at kunden først ville have en enkel version.

   I thought the client wanted a simple version first.

   Jeg

   I

   troede

   thought

   kunden

   the client

   først

   first

   ville have

   wanted to have

   enkel

   simple

   version

   version

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun, meaning “I.” It is the form used when the speaker refers to themself as the subject. Example: Jeg arbejder. — “I work.” troede is the past form of tro, “to think” or “to believe.” The present form is tror, while troede places the thinking in the past. Example: Jeg troede, at mødet var i morgen. — “I thought the meeting was tomorrow.” kunden is the definite singular form of kunde, “client” or “customer”: en kunde means “a client,” and kunden means “the client.” The definite form presents the client as identifiable in the situation. Example: Kunden ringer. — “The client is calling.” først means “first” or “initially.” Here it describes the order in which the client was thought to want the versions: the simple version was wanted before any later version. Example: Vi spiser først. — “We eat first.” ville have is a reusable verb construction. ville is the past form of the modal verb vil, “to want,” and have is its infinitive, “to have.” In this reported thought, the combination corresponds to “wanted to have.” Compare the present-tense example Kunden vil have en ny version. — “The client wants a new version.” enkel means “simple” here. It is the common-gender singular form of the adjective; with a neuter singular noun, the form is enkelt, and plural or definite forms use enkle. In en enkel version, enkel agrees with version, which is a common-gender noun. Example: en enkel løsning — “a simple solution”; et enkelt svar — “a simple answer.” version means “version.” Its basic indefinite form is en version; a definite singular form is versionen, and the plural is versioner. Example: Vi bruger den nyeste version. — “We use the newest version.” The sentence begins with the speaker’s past thought, Jeg troede. The comma and at introduce the content of that thought. Inside that clause, kunden is the subject, først marks priority in time or order, and ville have expresses what the client was thought to want. en enkel version is the object of have, with enkel describing the version. Together, the utterance means: “I thought the client wanted a simple version first.” It reports the speaker’s earlier belief; it does not by itself establish whether that belief was correct.

3. Jeg troede, at kunden forventede en komplet version med alle funktioner.

   I thought they expected a complete version with every feature.

   Jeg troede

   I thought

   kunden

   the customer

   forventede

   expected

   en

   a

   komplet

   complete

   version

   version

   med

   with

   alle

   all

   funktioner

   features

   More detail

   Jeg troede means “I thought.” troede is the past-tense form of tro; the same form is used with different subjects in the past. The following at introduces the content of the thought: Jeg troede, at … = “I thought that …”. kunden means “the customer.” It is the definite singular form of kunde: en kunde = “a customer,” kunden = “the customer.” The definite ending is attached to the noun rather than expressed by a separate word. forventede means “expected” here. It is the past-tense form of forvente. In at kunden forventede …, the customer is the one whose expectation is described. The past tense places that expectation in the past relative to the speaker’s statement. en is the indefinite article used with the singular common-gender noun version: en version = “a version.” Here it introduces the version being expected; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. komplet means “complete.” It describes version and has the same form here for the singular noun phrase en komplet version. A reusable pattern is en + adjective + noun, such as en komplet løsning = “a complete solution.” version means “version.” It is a common-gender noun: en version, with the definite form versionen = “the version.” med means “with” and links the version to what it includes or comes together with. For example, en løsning med flere muligheder means “a solution with several options.” alle means “all” or, in this context, “every.” It modifies the plural noun funktioner. Unlike the singular indefinite article en, it explicitly expresses the whole set. funktioner means “features” here. It is the plural indefinite form of funktion: en funktion = “a feature/function,” funktioner = “features/functions.” The context of a version supports the “features” meaning. Together, at kunden forventede en komplet version med alle funktioner means “that the customer expected a complete version with every feature.” Adding Jeg troede gives the complete utterance: “I thought they expected a complete version with every feature.” The English singular they is a gender-neutral way to refer to the customer; the Danish sentence uses the noun kunden rather than a gendered personal pronoun.

4. Lad os tjekke noterne i stedet for at diskutere ud fra vores hukommelse.

   Let's check the notes instead of arguing from memory.

   Lad os

   let's

   tjekke

   check

   noterne

   the notes

   i stedet for at

   instead of

   diskutere

   argue

   ud fra

   from

   hukommelse

   memory

   More detail

   Lad os is a common Danish way to suggest a joint action: “let’s …”. Lad is the imperative of lade (“let”); os is the pronoun “us”. The following verb is in the infinitive: Lad os vente. — “Let’s wait.” This construction presents the speaker and at least one other person as jointly carrying out the action, without stating how many other people there are. tjekke is the infinitive “to check”. In this sentence it follows Lad os, so it names the proposed action. The same form can be reused after other Danish constructions that require an infinitive, for example Vi skal tjekke noterne. — “We need to check the notes.” noterne means “the notes” here. It is the definite plural of note: singular en note, plural noter, definite plural noterne. The definite ending identifies particular notes in the situation; the sentence itself does not specify their number. i stedet for at introduces an alternative and means “instead of” followed by an infinitive. The pattern is i stedet for at + verb: Hun læser i stedet for at se tv. — “She reads instead of watching TV.” The following action is the one being replaced by the alternative. diskutere is the infinitive “to argue” or “to discuss”. Here it is the action that the speakers choose not to do, in favor of checking the notes. Its meaning is neutral between “argue” and “discuss” in isolation, but the fixed translation supports “arguing” in this sentence. ud fra is a preposition-like expression meaning “from the basis of” or “based on”. It describes the source used for a judgment, statement, or discussion. For example, Vi vælger ud fra data. — “We choose based on data.” hukommelse means “memory”. In ud fra vores hukommelse, it is the source from which the discussion would proceed: “from our memory”. vores means “our” and agrees in possession, not in a special form with this noun; the noun itself is singular here. A useful related contrast is Jeg kan huske det. — “I can remember it.” Together, Lad os tjekke noterne proposes checking the notes. i stedet for at diskutere ud fra vores hukommelse says that this will replace discussing on the basis of the speakers’ memory. The complete meaning is: “Let’s check the notes instead of arguing from memory.”

5. Noterne siger, at hastighed er vigtigst, men at en avanceret funktion stadig er nødvendig.

   The notes say speed matters most, but one advanced feature is still required.

   Noterne

   the notes

   siger

   say

   at

   that

   hastighed

   speed

   vigtigst

   most important

   men

   but

   avanceret

   advanced

   funktion

   feature; function

   stadig

   still

   nødvendig

   necessary

   More detail

   Noterne means “the notes” here. It is the definite plural form of note (a note), with -ne marking definite plural. The context also uses noterne, so this refers to the notes already being discussed, not to notes in general. siger is the present-tense form of sige, “to say.” Danish present forms generally do not change according to the subject’s person or number: jeg siger means “I say,” while de siger means “they say.” Example: Hun siger sandheden. — “She tells the truth.” at introduces the content of what is said. In this sentence it corresponds to “that,” rather than expressing a purpose. Danish uses this kind of clause after verbs such as sige (“say”) and vide (“know”). hastighed means “speed.” It is a common-gender noun, and the form here is singular and indefinite because the sentence discusses speed as a concept rather than a specifically identified speed. Example: Hastighed er vigtig. — “Speed is important.” vigtigst means “most important.” It is the superlative form of the adjective vigtig (“important”): vigtig → vigtigere (“more important”) → vigtigst (“most important”). The superlative identifies the highest degree in the relevant comparison; the sentence does not state what other things are being compared. men means “but” and links two contrasting statements. It does not itself express the degree of importance or the requirement; those meanings come from the neighboring words. avanceret means “advanced” here. It is the adjective form used with the common-gender singular noun funktion; the form is also used with a neuter singular noun in forms where Danish adjective agreement requires avanceret. Example: en avanceret metode — “an advanced method.” funktion means “feature” in this technical context; it can also mean “function” in other contexts. It is a common-gender noun, and en funktion is singular and indefinite. The article en marks the noun’s grammatical form, but does not by itself assert a numerical count in the English sense of “one.” stadig means “still.” It indicates that the requirement remains in force at the relevant time. Example: Det er stadig muligt. — “It is still possible.” nødvendig means “necessary.” It is the common-gender singular form of the adjective agreeing with funktion: en funktion er nødvendig means “a feature is necessary.” The adjective describes a requirement, not merely a preference. With a neuter singular noun, the form is nødvendigt, as in et krav er nødvendigt — “a requirement is necessary.” The first clause is Noterne siger, at hastighed er vigtigst: “The notes say that speed is most important.” Inside the reported clause, er means “is,” and vigtigst gives the highest degree of importance. men then introduces the contrasting second claim, at en avanceret funktion stadig er nødvendig: “but that an advanced feature is still necessary.” Together, the utterance says that speed has the top priority while an advanced feature remains required.

6. En enklere version, der indeholder den funktion, lyder som det rigtige kompromis.

   A simpler version that includes that feature sounds like the right compromise.

   enklere

   simpler

   version

   version

   indeholder

   contains; includes

   funktion

   feature; function

   lyder som

   sounds like

   rigtige

   right; correct

   kompromis

   compromise; trade-off

   More detail

   enklere means “simpler” here. It is the comparative form of enkel (“simple”): enkel → enklere → enklest (“simplest”). The comparison is understood against another version or an existing option; it does not by itself say how many versions there are. version is a common-gender noun, shown by en: en version. In the phrase En enklere version, the adjective agrees with this noun in its indefinite common-gender form. The whole noun phrase means “a simpler version.” der indeholder introduces a relative clause meaning “that includes.” der is the relative pronoun used here to connect the description to version; it does not identify an additional participant. indeholder is the present-tense form of indeholde (“to contain/include”), used with a third-person singular subject. The pattern en version, der indeholder ... is reusable for describing a version, object, or other singular item. funktion means “feature” in this sentence. It is a common-gender noun: en funktion, and the definite form is funktionen. Here den funktion refers to the specified feature from the surrounding meaning, not to a new feature introduced by the sentence. In this technical context, funktion is naturally translated as “feature”; in other contexts it can mean “function.” lyder som is a reusable pattern meaning “sounds like.” lyder is the present-tense form of lyde (“to sound”), and som introduces what something seems or sounds like. For example: Det lyder som en god idé. — “That sounds like a good idea.” rigtige means “right” or “correct” here, in the sense of being the suitable choice. It is the definite adjective form of rigtig (“right/correct”), used in det rigtige kompromis. The adjective’s form is required by the definite noun phrase, while kompromis is a neuter noun (et kompromis), which is why the phrase begins with det rather than den. kompromis means “compromise” or “trade-off.” It is a neuter noun: et kompromis; its definite form is kompromiset. The phrase det rigtige kompromis means “the right compromise,” with det and rigtige marking the definite neuter noun phrase. Together, En enklere version gives the subject: “A simpler version.” The relative clause der indeholder den funktion specifies which version is meant: it includes the feature already identified in the context. Finally, lyder som det rigtige kompromis says that this version sounds like the suitable balance between the relevant priorities. The complete meaning is: “A simpler version that includes that feature sounds like the right compromise.”

7. Det kan jeg acceptere, hvis vi forklarer kompromiset tydeligt.

   I can accept that if we explain the trade-off clearly.

   Det

   that

   kan jeg

   I can

   acceptere

   accept

   hvis

   if

   vi

   we

   forklarer

   explain

   kompromiset

   the trade-off

   tydeligt

   clearly

   More detail

   Det means “that” here: a demonstrative pronoun used as the object of acceptere. Its exact referent is not named in this sentence, but the translation confirms that it refers to something the speaker can accept. Danish det is the neuter singular form; it is not automatically a reference to the nearest noun. kan jeg gives the reusable pattern “can I” or, in this sentence, “I can.” kan is the present-tense form of kunne (“can, be able to”) and does not change for person or number: jeg kan, vi kan. In a main clause, Danish commonly places the finite verb before the subject when another element comes first: Det kan jeg ... literally follows the order “That can I ...”. Example: I dag kan jeg hjælpe. — “Today I can help.” acceptere is the infinitive “to accept.” After the modal kan, Danish uses the infinitive without at: kan acceptere, not kan at acceptere. The infinitive itself does not show the subject; jeg supplies the subject here. Example: Vi kan acceptere forslaget. — “We can accept the proposal.” hvis introduces a condition and means “if.” It starts the conditional clause hvis vi forklarer kompromiset tydeligt. In this clause, vi comes before the finite verb forklarer, which is the normal subject–verb order after this subordinating conjunction. vi means “we,” the first-person plural subject. It is distinct from jeg (“I”): jeg forklarer means “I explain,” while vi forklarer means “we explain.” The sentence therefore presents the explaining as an action of the speaker together with others, without specifying who else they are. forklarer means “explain” here. It is the present-tense form of forklare; the same form is used with jeg, du, han, hun, den, det, and vi, among others. Example: Vi forklarer planen. — “We explain the plan.” kompromiset means “the trade-off” or “the compromise.” The base noun is kompromis; the ending -et marks the definite singular form: et kompromis means “a compromise,” while kompromiset means “the compromise.” The preceding context supports the intended compromise as the one under discussion, but the word itself does not say who proposed it. tydeligt means “clearly” in this sentence. It is the adverbial form related to the adjective tydelig (“clear”). It describes how the explaining is done, not the compromise itself. Example: Hun forklarer reglen tydeligt. — “She explains the rule clearly.” Together, Det kan jeg acceptere means “I can accept that.” The conditional clause hvis vi forklarer kompromiset tydeligt adds the condition “if we explain the trade-off clearly.” Thus the whole utterance is: “I can accept that if we explain the trade-off clearly.”

8. Vi kan tage udgangspunkt i kundens prioriteter.

   We can frame it around the client's priorities.

   Vi kan

   we can

   tage udgangspunkt i

   base it around; take as a starting point

   kundens

   the client's

   prioriteter

   priorities

   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, a modal such as kan is followed by an infinitive without at: Vi kan tage = “We can take/frame …”. tage udgangspunkt i is a reusable Danish construction meaning “to take something as a starting point” or, as here, “to frame something around something.” Its core verb is tage, “take”; tage is the infinitive after kan. The fixed expression is followed by i plus the point or basis used. Example: Vi tager udgangspunkt i fakta. — “We use the facts as our starting point.” kundens means “the client's.” It is the genitive form of kunden, “the client”: the possessive -s marks the relationship between the client and the following noun. This -s form does not itself express a plural client. Example: kundens plan — “the client's plan.” prioriteter means “priorities.” It is the plural of prioritet, “priority.” The form here is an indefinite plural; the sentence refers to the client's priorities without using the separate definite-plural form. Example: Vi diskuterer prioriteter. — “We discuss priorities.” Together, tage udgangspunkt i kundens prioriteter says that the client's priorities are used as the basis or framing point. The complete utterance, Vi kan tage udgangspunkt i kundens prioriteter., means “We can frame it around the client's priorities.”

9. Jeg opdaterer opgavebeskrivelsen, så den passer til beslutningen.

   I'll update the task description to match the decision.

   opdaterer

   update

   opgavebeskrivelsen

   the task description

   så

   so that

   den

   it

   passer til

   matches

   beslutningen

   the decision

   More detail

   opdaterer is the present-tense form of opdatere, “to update,” for the first-person subject jeg. Danish present tense can describe a planned action, so this form corresponds here to “I’ll update,” not necessarily only to an action happening at this exact moment. opgavebeskrivelsen means “the task description.” Its base form is opgavebeskrivelse; the ending -en marks this noun as definite singular. The word is a compound built from opgave (“task”) and beskrivelse (“description”), but the whole compound names one description. så introduces the following clause and means “so that” here. It links the update with its intended result or purpose. A reusable pattern is X, så Y = “X, so that Y.” den means “it” here and refers to the task description. It is a singular pronoun used for a common-gender noun; the form itself does not identify an arbitrary nearby noun, and the fixed translation supports the task description as its referent. passer til uses the present-tense form passer of passe with til. In this context, passe til means “fit,” “suit,” or “match” something. The preposition til connects what fits with the thing it fits. Example: Det passer til planen. — “It fits the plan.” beslutningen means “the decision.” Its base form is beslutning, and -en makes it definite singular: “the decision.” The noun is the object of til in passer til beslutningen. Together, Jeg opdaterer opgavebeskrivelsen means “I’ll update the task description.” The clause så den passer til beslutningen adds the intended result: “so that it matches the decision.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I’ll update the task description to match the decision.”

10. Så burde uenigheden ikke forsinke projektet.

    Then the disagreement should not slow the project down.

    Så

    Then

    burde

    should

    uenigheden

    the disagreement

    ikke

    not

    forsinke

    slow down

    projektet

    the project

    More detail

    Så means “then” here and links the sentence to the preceding situation: after the task description is updated to fit the decision, the stated expectation follows. Danish så can have other functions, but this use marks a consequence or result. burde is the modal verb form used for “should” here. It expresses an expectation or suitability rather than a firm command. Its base form is burde; the related present-tense modal bør can also mean “should,” but burde is the form in this utterance. Example: Det burde være enkelt. — “It should be simple.” uenigheden means “the disagreement.” The noun is uenighed, and uenigheden is its definite singular form, corresponding to “the disagreement.” Danish commonly forms definite singular nouns with a suffix; the suffix here is attached to uenighed. Example: Uenigheden fortsætter. — “The disagreement continues.” ikke negates the following proposition. Here it makes the expected outcome negative: the disagreement should not cause the project to be slowed down. Example: Det er ikke svært. — “It is not difficult.” forsinke is the infinitive “to slow down” or “to delay.” After the modal burde, Danish uses the infinitive without an infinitive marker: burde forsinke, “should slow down.” The verb is transitive here: something delays something else. Example: Fejlen kan forsinke arbejdet. — “The error can delay the work.” projektet means “the project.” Its base noun is projekt, and projektet is the definite singular form, “the project.” The noun is the object affected by forsinke: it is the project that would be delayed. Together, Så burde introduces an expected consequence, uenigheden is the subject expected not to cause the problem, ikke supplies the negation, and forsinke projektet expresses delaying the project. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then the disagreement should not slow the project down.”