Choosing a Review Method | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg vil gerne gennemgå dagens lektion.

   I want to review today's lesson.

   Jeg vil gerne

   I would like to

   gennemgå

   review; go through

   dagens

   today’s

   lektion

   lesson

   More detail

   Jeg vil gerne means “I would like to” in this sentence. Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I.” vil is the present-tense form of ville; with gerne, it expresses a willing or desired action rather than simply a future event. gerne adds the sense of being willing or pleased to do something. Together, Jeg vil gerne + infinitive is a useful Danish pattern for “I would like to + verb.” Example: Jeg vil gerne lære dansk. — “I would like to learn Danish.” gennemgå means “to review” or “to go through” material carefully. It is an infinitive, used here after vil gerne. The same verb can describe going through a text, topic, or set of items step by step; the intended object here is a lesson. Example: Vi skal gennemgå teksten. — “We are going to go through the text.” dagens means “today’s.” It is formed from dag (“day”) with the possessive/genitive ending -s. This form links “today” to the noun that follows: dagens lektion is literally “today’s lesson.” Compare gårsdagens (“yesterday’s”) in a phrase such as gårsdagens nyheder — “yesterday’s news.” lektion means “lesson.” It is a common-gender noun in Danish. In this phrase it appears in its indefinite singular form; the possessive expression dagens already specifies which lesson is meant, so Danish does not use the separate definite form lektionen here. Example: Lektionen begynder nu. — “The lesson begins now.” Taken together, Jeg vil gerne gennemgå dagens lektion. means “I want to review today’s lesson.” The pattern is Jeg vil gerne + infinitive verb + object: the speaker expresses a desire to review, and dagens lektion identifies the material as today’s lesson.

2. Men jeg er ikke sikker på, hvor jeg skal begynde.

   But I am not sure where to start.

   Men

   but

   jeg er

   I am

   ikke

   not

   sikker

   sure; certain

   på

   about; on

   hvor

   where

   skal

   am to; should

   begynde

   begin; start

   More detail

   Men means “but” and marks a contrast with another idea. jeg er means “I am.” jeg is the first-person singular subject, and er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”). Danish er is used with singular and plural subjects in the present: jeg er (“I am”), vi er (“we are”). ikke is the usual Danish negation word, “not.” It normally comes after the finite verb in a main clause, as in jeg er ikke sikker (“I am not sure”). sikker means “sure” or “certain” here. It is the adjective whose meaning is negated by ikke; the sentence does not say that the speaker is certain. The related opposite is usikker (“uncertain”), for example: Jeg er usikker. — “I am uncertain.” på is part of the useful combination sikker på, meaning “sure about” or “certain about.” Here, the following clause identifies what the speaker is uncertain about. Learn this combination as a pattern rather than as a literal choice between all possible meanings of på. hvor means “where.” It introduces the embedded question hvor jeg skal begynde (“where I should start”). In a direct question, Danish can use Hvor skal jeg begynde? — “Where should I start?” After sikker på, the word order is different: hvor is followed by the subject jeg and then the finite verb skal. skal is the present-tense form of skulle. Here it expresses what the speaker should or is supposed to do. The form skal is also used with other present-tense subjects, for example vi skal begynde (“we should start” / “we are going to start”); the subject identifies who is involved. begynde means “to begin” or “to start.” It is the infinitive after the modal verb skal: skal begynde means “should start” or “is to begin.” In this sentence, the speaker is uncertain about the place or point at which to start, not stating that the beginning has already happened. The imperative Begynd means “Start” when directly telling someone to begin. Together, jeg er ikke sikker på means “I am not sure about,” and hvor jeg skal begynde means “where I should start.” The complete utterance is therefore: “But I am not sure where to start.” A reusable pattern is Jeg er ikke sikker på, hvor jeg skal ... — “I am not sure where I should ...”; the final infinitive can change with the intended action.

3. Begynd med de noter, der hænger direkte sammen med virkelige situationer.

   Start with the notes that connect directly to real situations.

   Begynd med

   Start with

   de

   the

   noter

   notes

   der hænger direkte sammen med

   that connect directly to

   virkelige

   real

   situationer

   situations

   More detail

   Begynd med means “start with.” Begynd is the imperative of begynde (“to begin”), so it gives a direct instruction. med introduces what is chosen as the starting point. Reusable pattern: Begynd med + noun. Example: Begynd med det vigtigste. — “Start with the most important thing.” de has the intended meaning “the” here. Danish commonly uses de before a plural noun phrase when the phrase is definite in this pattern; in other contexts, de can also mean “those,” so its exact interpretation depends on context. It does not itself state a numerical count. noter means “notes” here. It is the plural of note. Example: Jeg skriver noter. — “I write notes.” der hænger direkte sammen med describes the notes selected by the following relative clause. der is a relative pronoun meaning “that/which” in this use. hænger is the present form of hænge (“hang”), while hænge sammen med is the reusable expression “be connected with” or “be related to”; direkte adds “directly.” In the present tense, hænger does not change for singular versus plural subjects. Example: Det hænger sammen med planen. — “It is connected with the plan.” virkelige means “real” in this sentence. It is the plural or definite form of the adjective virkelig; the adjective’s base form is virkelig, not situationer. Example: Vi taler om virkelige problemer. — “We are talking about real problems.” situationer means “situations.” It is the plural of situation. Example: Nye situationer kan være svære. — “New situations can be difficult.” Together, Begynd med de noter gives the instruction to start with the notes, and der hænger direkte sammen med virkelige situationer identifies those notes as the ones connected directly to real situations. The whole sentence means: “Start with the notes that connect directly to real situations.”

4. Jeg læser normalt det hele igen, men det tager for meget tid.

   I usually reread everything, but that takes too much time.

   Jeg

   I

   læser

   read

   normalt

   usually

   det hele

   everything

   igen

   again

   tager

   takes

   for meget

   too much

   tid

   time

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun: “I.” It is used for the speaker, regardless of the speaker’s gender. For example: Jeg arbejder. — “I work.” læser is the present-tense form of læse, “to read.” In this sentence, igen makes the intended action “read again,” or “reread.” Danish present tense can describe a regular habit as well as something happening now; normalt shows that this is a usual habit here. Example: Jeg læser hver dag. — “I read every day.” normalt means “usually” and marks frequency. It commonly stands near the verb or later in the clause: Jeg normalt læser is not the normal placement, while Jeg læser normalt is natural. This adverb describes how often the reading happens, not how it is performed. det hele is a compact expression meaning “everything” or “all of it.” det is the neuter singular form used in this expression, and hele is the definite form of hel, “whole.” Together they refer to the complete relevant set or amount, without naming every part. Example: Jeg forstår det hele. — “I understand everything.” igen means “again.” It shows that the reading is repeated. With læser, the combination læser ... igen means “read ... again”; the two parts need not be adjacent if other words intervene. tager is the present-tense form of tage, “to take.” In the pattern det tager ... tid, Danish expresses how much time an activity requires: literally, “it takes ... time.” Here, det refers to the rereading activity as a whole, as reflected by “that” in the fixed translation. Example: Det tager en time. — “It takes an hour.” for meget means “too much.” meget is the quantity word “much,” and for changes it to an excessive amount: more than is wanted or suitable. In for meget tid, the expression modifies the amount of tid. Compare meget tid — “a lot of time” — with for meget tid — “too much time.” tid is the noun “time,” especially time viewed as an amount or duration. It is a mass-like noun in this use, so the sentence does not assert a particular number of hours or occasions. Example: Jeg har ikke tid. — “I do not have time.” The first clause combines Jeg + læser + normalt + det hele + igen: “I usually read everything again.” men then introduces a contrast. The second clause, det tager for meget tid, says that this complete rereading activity requires an excessive amount of time: “but that takes too much time.” The whole utterance is therefore: “I usually reread everything, but that takes too much time.”

5. Vælg de dele, du kan bruge i en kort samtale.

   Choose the parts you can use in a short conversation.

   Vælg

   choose

   dele

   parts

   du kan

   you can

   bruge

   use

   kort

   short

   samtale

   conversation

   More detail

   Vælg is the imperative of vælge, “to choose”. It gives a direct instruction without an expressed subject. Example: Vælg en bog. — “Choose a book.” dele means “parts”. Its base form is del; dele is the plural indefinite form, while delen is singular definite and delene is plural definite. In this sentence, de dele refers to the parts selected by the demonstrative de. The noun itself remains in the plural indefinite form dele; Danish does not make it definite by changing it to delene in this construction. In the fixed translation, the phrase is rendered as “the parts”. du kan means “you can”. du is the subject “you”, and kan is the present form of the modal verb kunne. The modal is followed by an infinitive without at: Du kan læse. — “You can read.” The form kunne can express past or conditional meanings depending on context. bruge means “use”. It is the infinitive after kan, so du kan bruge means “you can use”. The same verb can appear with another subject: Jeg bruger en ordbog. — “I use a dictionary.” The sequence du kan bruge is a relative clause describing which parts are meant: “that you can use”. The subject du is also the understood user of the parts. The clause does not itself specify what the parts are used for; i en kort samtale gives the setting in which they can be used. kort means “short”. Here it describes the singular common-gender noun samtale and has the form used with an indefinite singular noun phrase: en kort samtale. Its comparison forms are kortere (“shorter”) and kortest (“shortest”); with a definite noun phrase, the superlative is den korteste samtale (“the shortest conversation”). samtale means “conversation”. It is a common-gender noun, used here with the indefinite article en: en samtale. Its plural is samtaler, and its singular definite form is samtalen. Example: Vi har en kort samtale. — “We have a short conversation.” Together, Vælg de dele gives the instruction “Choose the parts”. The clause du kan bruge narrows this to the parts that the listener can use, and i en kort samtale specifies the setting: “in a short conversation”. The complete utterance therefore means: “Choose the parts you can use in a short conversation.”

6. Vi kunne skrive eksempelsætninger, før vi øver os i at tale.

   We could write example sentences before we practice speaking.

   Vi kunne

   we could

   skrive

   write

   eksempelsætninger

   example sentences

   før

   before

   vi øver os

   we practice

   at tale

   to speak

   More detail

   Vi kunne means “we could” here. vi is the first-person plural subject, and kunne is the modal verb kunne (“can; be able to”) in its past-tense form, used here for a possible or suggested action. Danish modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without at: Vi kunne skrive = “We could write.” For comparison, present kan means “can,” while kunne can express past ability or a more tentative possibility, as in this sentence. skrive is the infinitive “to write.” After kunne, it stays in the infinitive and does not take at. Example: Jeg kan skrive. — “I can write.” eksempelsætninger means “example sentences.” It is the plural of eksempelsætning: eksempel (“example”) + sætning (“sentence”). The plural ending is -er, with the compound written as one word. Example: Vi læser to eksempelsætninger. — “We read two example sentences.” før means “before” and introduces the time relation between two actions. Here it introduces the clause vi øver os i at tale, so the writing is placed earlier than the speaking practice. Example: Ring, før du går. — “Call before you leave.” vi øver os means “we practice.” The verb is øve (“practice”), and øver is its present-tense form. os is the reflexive object referring back to the subject vi; the expression øve sig means “to practice.” Danish present-tense verbs do not change for first, second, or third person: jeg øver, vi øver, and de øver all use øver. Example: Jeg øver mig hver dag. — “I practice every day.” at tale means “to speak” or “to talk.” tale is the infinitive of the verb, and at marks the infinitive here. The expression øve sig i at tale means “practice speaking”: i links the practice to the activity, and at tale names that activity. Example: Hun øver sig i at tale dansk. — “She practices speaking Danish.” Together, Vi kunne skrive eksempelsætninger says “We could write example sentences.” før then places that action before vi øver os i at tale, “we practice speaking.” The complete utterance therefore means: “We could write example sentences before we practice speaking.”

7. At sige eksempelsætningerne højt vil vise, om du kan bruge udtrykkene i en samtale.

   Saying the example sentences aloud will show whether you can use the phrases in conversation.

   At sige

   to say; saying

   eksempelsætningerne

   the example sentences

   højt

   aloud

   vil

   will

   vise

   show

   om

   whether

   du

   you

   kan

   can

   bruge

   use

   udtrykkene

   the phrases

   en samtale

   a conversation

   More detail

   At sige combines the infinitive marker at with sige, “say.” In this sentence, the whole infinitive phrase functions as the subject: “saying.” The same pattern is reusable with other actions, for example: At læse er nyttigt. — “Reading is useful.” Eksempelsætningerne means “the example sentences.” It is the definite plural of eksempelsætning (“example sentence”): eksempelsætninger is the indefinite plural, while eksempelsætningerne is the definite plural. The ending -ne marks definiteness here; it does not by itself identify which examples are meant. Højt means “aloud” here, describing the manner of saying. It is different from høj, which is the adjective “high” or “tall” in relevant contexts; højt is the form used in this adverbial expression. Vil is the present-tense form of ville. With an infinitive, as in vil vise, it expresses a future result here: “will show.” Ville can have other functions in other contexts, so the intended meaning comes from its combination with the following infinitive and the fixed translation. Vise means “show” and is the infinitive after vil. Danish uses the same infinitive form after different subjects in this construction: jeg vil vise means “I will show,” while du vil vise means “you will show.” Om introduces the embedded question “whether.” It connects vil vise with the issue being tested: whether the listener can use the expressions. In this use, om is not the preposition “about”; the following clause gives its meaning. Du is the second-person singular pronoun “you.” It is the subject of kan bruge, and it does not by itself identify a particular person beyond the intended addressee. Kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can/be able to.” With the infinitive bruge, it expresses ability: du kan bruge — “you can use.” The modal is followed by the infinitive without at. Bruge means “use” and is the infinitive governed by kan. Its base form is bruge; for example, Jeg kan bruge denne metode. — “I can use this method.” Udtrykkene means “the phrases” or “the expressions.” It is the definite plural of udtryk. In ordinary count-noun use, the indefinite singular is et udtryk, while bare udtryk is the indefinite plural; udtrykkene marks the plural as definite. Here it is the object of bruge. En samtale means “a conversation.” Samtale is a singular noun, and en is its indefinite article; the phrase refers to conversation as an unspecified setting, not to a stated numerical count. With i, i en samtale means “in a conversation.” Together, At sige eksempelsætningerne højt is the subject “saying the example sentences aloud.” vil vise says that this action will show something, and om du kan bruge udtrykkene i en samtale gives what it will show: whether you can use the phrases in a conversation. The complete meaning is: “Saying the example sentences aloud will show whether you can use the phrases in conversation.”

8. Det lyder mere nyttigt end at kopiere hele siden igen.

   That sounds more useful than copying the whole page again.

   Det

   That / it

   lyder

   sounds

   mere nyttigt

   more useful

   end

   than

   kopiere

   copy

   hele

   whole

   siden

   the page

   igen

   again

   More detail

   Det is the subject pronoun meaning “that” here; the fixed translation supports that reading. In this use it refers to the activity or idea under discussion, without specifying a new participant. Danish det is also the neuter singular form of the pronoun system, but its exact referent must come from context. lyder means “sounds” in this sentence. It is the present-tense form of lyde (“to sound”): jeg lyder, det lyder, and so on. The verb describes how something seems by impression, rather than stating that it literally produces a sound. Example: Det lyder godt. — “That sounds good.” mere nyttigt means “more useful.” nyttigt is the neuter singular form of the adjective nyttig, agreeing with det; the -t belongs to the adjective, not to a noun. mere forms the comparative: nyttig — “useful,” mere nyttig or mere nyttigt — “more useful,” depending on the form required by what it describes. The comparison is completed later by end. end introduces the second side of a comparison, corresponding to “than.” A reusable Danish pattern is mere [adjective] end ... — “more [adjective] than ...”. Here it connects mere nyttigt with the activity introduced by at kopiere. kopiere is the infinitive “to copy.” Its base form is also kopiere; Danish commonly marks an infinitive with at, giving at kopiere — “to copy” or, after a comparison, “copying.” Example: Det er let at kopiere teksten. — “It is easy to copy the text.” hele means “the whole” or “entire” here. In hele siden, it modifies the definite noun phrase and emphasizes the page as one complete unit. Example: hele dagen means “the whole day.” siden means “the page.” It is the definite singular form of side: en side — “a page,” siden — “the page.” The definite ending is part of the observed noun form. This word can have other meanings in other contexts, but “page” is the sense fixed by the translation here. igen means “again,” indicating repetition of the copying activity. It modifies the situation as a whole rather than changing the noun phrase hele siden. Together, Det lyder gives “That sounds,” and mere nyttigt end at kopiere hele siden igen compares the current activity or idea with copying the entire page again: “That sounds more useful than copying the whole page again.”

9. Det viser også, hvilke punkter der er klare, og hvilke der kræver mere øvelse.

   It also shows which points are clear and which ones need more practice.

   Det

   it

   viser

   shows

   hvilke

   which

   punkter

   points

   klare

   clear

   kræver

   requires

   mere

   more

   øvelse

   practice

   More detail

   Det is the Danish subject pronoun corresponding here to “it.” This sentence and its fixed translation do not identify whether det refers to something previously mentioned or is used impersonally, so no more specific referent is established here. Danish det is the neuter singular pronoun; its exact role depends on the construction. viser means “shows” here. It is the present-tense form of vise (“to show”). Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change for the subject’s person or number: jeg viser means “I show,” while de viser means “they show.” hvilke introduces a “which” selection among plural items. It appears in both coordinated parts: hvilke punkter (“which points”) and hvilke der ... (“which ones ...”). The plural contrast is hvilken for a singular common-gender noun, hvilket for a singular neuter noun, and hvilke for plural nouns. punkter is the plural of punkt, “point.” The pattern hvilke punkter asks which points are being identified. Example: Hvilke punkter er vigtigst? — “Which points are most important?” klare means “clear” in this sentence. It is the plural form of the adjective klar; klar is used with a singular common-gender noun, klart with a singular neuter noun, and klare with plural or definite noun phrases. Here it describes the plural punkter in er klare (“are clear”). kræver means “need” or “require” here. It is the present-tense form of kræve (“to require”). The construction kræve mere øvelse means that something requires more practice. Example: Denne opgave kræver tid. — “This task requires time.” mere means “more” here and indicates a greater amount of something. In mere øvelse, it describes an increased amount of practice, not a comparison between two named practice activities. Its comparison chain is meget (“much/a lot”), mere (“more”), mest (“most”). øvelse means “practice” here. It is the singular noun øvelse; in this expression it refers to practice as an activity or amount, rather than to several separate exercises. Example: Vi har brug for mere øvelse. — “We need more practice.” The first part, Det viser også, hvilke punkter der er klare, means “It also shows which points are clear.” og joins a second, parallel selection: hvilke der kræver mere øvelse, “which ones need more practice.” The repeated hvilke keeps the two groups parallel, while der introduces the clause describing the selected points. Together, the utterance says that it also shows both which points are clear and which ones need more practice.

10. Lad os hver især vælge nogle få nyttige udtryk og afprøve dem efter undervisningen.

    Let's each choose a few useful phrases and test them after class.

    Lad os

    let's

    hver især

    each of us

    vælge

    choose

    nogle få

    a few

    nyttige

    useful

    udtryk

    phrases

    afprøve

    test

    dem

    them

    efter

    after

    undervisningen

    the class

    More detail

    Lad os is the Danish pattern for a suggestion addressed to the speaker and others: “let’s …”. Lad is the imperative of lade (“let; allow”), and os is the object form meaning “us”. The construction is followed by an infinitive: Lad os vælge = “let’s choose”. hver især adds the idea that the participants do the action individually, each one doing it for themselves. It is a useful fixed expression meaning “each individually” or “each of us” in this sentence. For example: Vi vælger hver især en bog. — “We each choose a book.” vælge is the infinitive “to choose”. The same form follows Lad os, so Lad os vælge means “let’s choose”. Its past form is valgte, as in Hun valgte en bog. — “She chose a book.” nogle få means “a few”: a small, unspecified number. Nogle can mean “some”, while få narrows this to a small number. This expression does not specify an exact count. For example: Jeg har nogle få spørgsmål. — “I have a few questions.” nyttige means “useful” here and describes the plural noun udtryk. The adjective’s base form is nyttig; common singular forms include nyttig and nyttigt, while nyttige is used with plural or definite noun phrases. For example: Det er et nyttigt råd. — “It is useful advice.” udtryk means “phrases” here. Its singular is also udtryk (et udtryk), while udtryk is the indefinite plural as in this sentence. Danish nouns can therefore have the same visible form in singular and plural; the article or surrounding words can show the number. In this context, nogle få nyttige udtryk is “a few useful phrases.” afprøve is the infinitive “to test” or “to try out”. It is coordinated with vælge, so the suggestion contains two actions: choose phrases and test them. For example: Vi vil afprøve metoden. — “We will test the method.” dem is the object pronoun “them”. Here it refers to the phrases already mentioned, as confirmed by the fixed translation. Danish uses dem for plural objects, whereas de is the corresponding subject form: De bruger dem. — “They use them.” efter is a preposition meaning “after” when it places an event later than another event. It introduces the time expression efter undervisningen, “after class”. For example: Vi mødes efter mødet. — “We meet after the meeting.” undervisningen means “the class” or “the teaching”. It is the definite singular form of undervisning: undervisning means “teaching/class instruction”, and the suffix in undervisningen marks “the”. Thus efter undervisningen means “after the class” in the intended context. As a whole, Lad os hver især vælge nogle få nyttige udtryk og afprøve dem efter undervisningen. combines a suggestion (Lad os), the individual-action expression (hver især), the first infinitive action (vælge), its object (nogle få nyttige udtryk), a coordinated second infinitive (afprøve), the pronoun referring back to those phrases (dem), and the time phrase (efter undervisningen). The complete meaning is: “Let’s each choose a few useful phrases and test them after class.”

11. En kort rutine vil være lettere at gentage end en lang plan for repetition.

    A short routine will be easier to repeat than a long review plan.

    kort

    short

    rutine

    routine

    vil være

    will be

    lettere

    easier

    at gentage

    to repeat

    end

    than

    lang

    long

    plan

    plan

    repetition

    review

    More detail

    kort means “short” here and describes rutine. Danish descriptive adjectives agree with the noun in relevant forms; kort is the form used with this singular common-gender noun. Example: en kort tekst — “a short text.” Its opposite is lang. rutine means “routine.” It is a noun for a repeated procedure or regular practice. The indefinite phrase en kort rutine presents one short routine; en marks the noun phrase as indefinite, but does not by itself state a numerical count. Example: Jeg har en rutine. — “I have a routine.” vil være means “will be.” vil is the form of ville used here to place the statement in the future, and være is the infinitive “be.” Together they link the routine to a later property: it will be easier. This is a construction, not a claim that vil alone means “will be.” Example: Det vil være nyttigt. — “It will be useful.” lettere means “easier.” It is the comparative form of let (“easy”): let → lettere (“easier”) → lettest (“easiest”). The comparison is made explicit by end, so the routine is easier to repeat than the plan mentioned afterward. Example: Denne vej er lettere. — “This way is easier.” at gentage means “to repeat.” at introduces the infinitive, and gentage is the infinitive form of the verb. The phrase names the activity in which the routine is easier. Example: Det er godt at gentage ordene. — “It is good to repeat the words.” end means “than” in this comparison. It connects lettere with the thing used as the comparison point. In the pattern X er lettere end Y, X is easier than Y. Example: Denne øvelse er lettere end den anden. — “This exercise is easier than the other one.” lang means “long” here and describes plan. It is the singular common-gender form corresponding to this noun. Its opposite is kort; the comparison in this sentence is not between lang and kort, but between the ease of repeating the two noun phrases. Example: Vi har en lang pause. — “We have a long break.” plan means “plan.” It is the noun that serves as the comparison point after end. Example: Vi følger en plan. — “We follow a plan.” repetition means “review” or “repetition” here. In en lang plan for repetition, for connects the plan with its purpose or subject: it is a long plan for review. repetition is a noun, not the verb “repeat”; the verb is gentage. Example: Repetition hjælper med at huske. — “Repetition helps with remembering.” The utterance first presents En kort rutine (“a short routine”), then says vil være lettere at gentage (“will be easier to repeat”). end introduces the comparison point, en lang plan for repetition (“a long review plan”). As a whole: “A short routine will be easier to repeat than a long review plan.”