Renewing a library book when the online account fails | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg prøvede at forny lånet på min bog online, men min konto ville ikke indlæse.

   I tried to renew my book online, but my account wouldn't load.

   prøvede

   tried

   forny

   renew

   lånet

   the loan

   min

   my

   bog

   book

   online

   online

   konto

   account

   ville ikke

   wouldn't

   indlæse

   load

   More detail

   prøvede means “tried” here. It is the past tense of prøve (“try”): jeg prøver = “I try,” while jeg prøvede = “I tried.” Danish commonly uses prøve at followed by an infinitive for an attempted action. forny means “renew.” It is the infinitive after at; the pattern prøve at + infinitive means “try to …”. For example: Jeg prøver at forny abonnementet. — “I am trying to renew the subscription.” lånet means “the loan.” The noun is lån; its definite singular form is lånet. The ending -et marks this noun as definite singular. In this sentence, the loan is the object being renewed. min means “my.” It is a possessive form used with a common-gender singular noun, as in min bog (“my book”). Other forms include mit with a neuter singular noun and mine with plural nouns. The possessive identifies the book as belonging to the speaker; it does not itself assert a numerical count. bog means “book.” The phrase min bog means “my book.” Its indefinite singular form is en bog, while the definite form is bogen (“the book”). online means “online.” It is an invariable loanword/adverb here and describes how the renewal was attempted. For example: Jeg betaler online. — “I pay online.” konto means “account.” Here it is the subject of the second clause: the account is the thing that failed to load. Its definite form is kontoen (“the account”), and its plural is konti or kontoer, depending on usage. ville ikke contributes “wouldn't” in this sentence. ville is the past form of vil and is followed by the infinitive indlæse; ikke is the negation. Together, ville ikke + infinitive states that something did not proceed or would not do what was expected. This is not the same as simply saying that the account “did not load”: the modal ville presents the loading as something the account failed or refused to do. indlæse means “load.” It is an infinitive after the modal ville. The related form indlæser means “loads/is loading” in the present, while indlæste is the past tense “loaded.” In this sentence, indlæse refers to the account loading, not to the speaker loading it. The first clause is Jeg prøvede at forny lånet på min bog online: “I tried to renew the loan on my book online.” Jeg is “I,” prøvede places the attempt in the past, and at forny names the attempted action. på min bog specifies the book connected with the loan, and online specifies the method. The conjunction men means “but” and contrasts that attempt with the result in the next clause: min konto ville ikke indlæse — “my account wouldn't load.” Together, the complete utterance means: “I tried to renew my book online, but my account wouldn't load.”

2. Ring til biblioteket, før afleveringsfristen udløber.

   Call the library before the due date passes.

   Ring

   call

   biblioteket

   the library

   før

   before

   afleveringsfristen

   the due-date deadline

   udløber

   expires

   More detail

   Ring is the imperative form of ringe, “to call.” Danish imperatives commonly omit the subject: Ring! means “Call!” The same form can address one or more people; the form itself does not mark that distinction. biblioteket means “the library” here. It is the definite singular form of bibliotek, “library,” with the definite ending -et. In the reusable pattern ringe til + [person or place], til introduces the person or place being called: Ring til lægen. — “Call the doctor.” før introduces a time condition meaning “before.” In this sentence it links the command to the clause afleveringsfristen udløber: the call should happen earlier than the deadline’s expiry. Example: Ring til kontoret, før det lukker. — “Call the office before it closes.” afleveringsfristen means “the due-date deadline” here, specifically the deadline for handing in or returning something. It is the definite singular form of afleveringsfrist; the ending -en marks this noun as definite. The compound’s meaning comes from the deadline being connected with aflevering, or handing something in/returning it. Example: Afleveringsfristen er i morgen. — “The submission deadline is tomorrow.” udløber means “expires” or “runs out” here. It is the present-tense form of udløbe, “to expire.” Danish present tense does not change for person, so udløber can occur with different subjects; here its subject is afleveringsfristen. Example: Kortet udløber snart. — “The card expires soon.” Together, Ring til biblioteket gives the command “Call the library,” and før afleveringsfristen udløber gives the time limit “before the due-date deadline expires.” The whole utterance is therefore: “Call the library before the due date passes.”

3. Jeg er bekymret, fordi bogen skal afleveres i dag.

   I'm worried because the book is due today.

   Jeg

   I

   bekymret

   worried

   fordi

   because

   bogen

   the book

   skal afleveres

   is due to be handed in

   i dag

   today

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun, meaning “I.” It does not mark the speaker’s gender. In Jeg er bekymret, er is the present form of være (“to be”), and bekymret is a predicative adjective describing the subject. bekymret means “worried” here. Its base form is bekymret; it is an adjective, not the verb “to worry.” A reusable pattern is Jeg er + adjective: Jeg er træt. — “I am tired.” fordi introduces the reason for the preceding statement and normally corresponds to “because.” It introduces the clause explaining why the speaker is worried. Example: Jeg bliver hjemme, fordi jeg er syg. — “I am staying home because I am ill.” bogen means “the book” here. The base noun is bog (“book”), and bogen is its definite singular form: bog → bogen. Danish commonly marks definiteness on the noun itself rather than using a separate word equivalent to “the.” skal afleveres expresses that something is required or scheduled to be handed in. skal is the present form of the modal verb skulle; after a modal, afleveres is the passive infinitive of aflevere (“hand in” or “submit”). The passive form focuses on the book as the item that must be handed in, without naming who will hand it in. Compare the active form: Jeg skal aflevere bogen. — “I have to hand in the book.” i dag is the time expression “today.” It identifies the day on which the handing-in is due. Example: Opgaven skal afleveres i dag. — “The assignment must be handed in today.” Together, Jeg er bekymret states the speaker’s feeling, fordi connects that feeling to its reason, and bogen skal afleveres i dag says that the book is required or scheduled to be handed in today. The complete meaning is: “I’m worried because the book is due today.”

4. De kan måske forlænge lånet, hvis de kan se, at der var et problem med at logge ind.

   They may extend it if they can see there was a login problem.

   De kan

   they can

   måske

   perhaps

   forlænge

   extend

   lånet

   the loan

   hvis

   if

   se

   see

   der var

   there was

   et problem

   a problem

   logge ind

   log in

   More detail

   De kan means “they can” here. The fixed translation identifies De as the third-person plural subject, not formal singular “you.” kan is the present form of kunne (“can, be able to”). After a modal such as kan, the following verb normally stays in the infinitive: De kan forlænge = “they can extend.” måske means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It makes the possibility less certain. Its position between the modal and the main verb is natural here. forlænge means “extend” or “lengthen.” It is the infinitive after kan; it does not receive a special subject ending in this construction. Example: De kan forlænge fristen. — “They can extend the deadline.” lånet means “the loan.” The base noun is lån; lånet is its definite singular form, with the definite ending -et. The definite form presents the loan as identifiable in this situation. This noun is the object of forlænge. hvis introduces a condition and means “if.” It begins hvis de kan se ..., the condition clause. In this subordinate clause, the subject de comes before the finite verb kan: hvis de kan se = “if they can see.” se means “see.” Here it follows the modal kan, so it appears in the infinitive: kan se = “can see.” In this context, “see” means recognize or establish that the stated problem existed, not merely look at something. Example: Hun kan se fejlen. — “She can see the error.” der var means “there was.” der is the existential element used to present something as existing, while var is the past form of være (“be”). The following noun phrase identifies what existed: der var et problem = “there was a problem.” et problem means “a problem.” problem is a neuter noun, so its indefinite singular article is et; its definite singular form is problemet. Here the phrase introduces an unspecified problem. The article itself does not independently assert a numerical quantity; the singular form is required by Danish grammar. logge ind means “log in.” This is a two-part verb expression: logge is the infinitive, and ind contributes the meaning of entering a system. In med at logge ind, the infinitive follows at after problemet med ...: “the problem with logging in.” Example: Jeg kan ikke logge ind. — “I cannot log in.” Together, De kan måske forlænge lånet means “They may be able to extend the loan.” The conditional clause hvis de kan se, at der var et problem med at logge ind gives the condition: this is possible if they can establish that there was a problem with logging in. The complete meaning is: “They may extend it if they can see there was a login problem.”

5. Hvad nu hvis nogen har reserveret den?

   What if someone has reserved it?

   Hvad nu hvis

   What if

   nogen

   someone

   har reserveret

   has reserved

   den

   it

   More detail

   Hvad nu hvis is the fixed Danish construction for introducing a hypothetical concern: “What if …?” It is reusable before a clause, for example: Hvad nu hvis det regner? — “What if it rains?” nogen means “someone” here. It is an indefinite pronoun referring to an unspecified person. In other contexts, the same form can also be used in questions or conditions with an “anyone” sense, but the fixed translation supports “someone” in this sentence. har reserveret means “has reserved.” har is the present form of have, used here as the auxiliary in the perfect; reserveret is the past participle of reservere (“reserve”). The perfect presents the reservation as completed while relevant now. Compare reserverer — “reserves/is reserving” and reserverede — “reserved.” den means “it” here. It is a singular common-gender object pronoun. Danish distinguishes den for a common-gender singular referent from det for a neuter singular referent and de for plural referents. The exact item referred to is not identified by the fixed sentence, but the translation establishes that it is the object being reserved. Together, nogen har reserveret den means “someone has reserved it.” The completed action is placed inside the hypothetical frame Hvad nu hvis, giving the whole utterance: “What if someone has reserved it?”

6. Så kan de nok ikke forny lånet, heller ikke over telefonen.

   Then they probably won't be able to renew it, even by phone.

   Så

   then

   kan de

   they can

   nok

   probably

   ikke

   not

   forny

   renew

   lånet

   the loan

   heller ikke

   not either; even not

   telefonen

   the telephone

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links this conclusion to the situation already under discussion. It can also mean “so” in other contexts, so its exact English rendering depends on how it connects to the surrounding sentence. kan de combines kan, the present-tense form of kunne (“can; be able to”), with de (“they”). Danish places the finite verb before the subject when an element such as Så comes first: Så kan de ... literally has “then can they ...” order, while the meaning is “then they can ...”. Kan de ...? with the same order would normally be a question, but here Så is a fronted sentence element and the whole sentence is declarative. nok means “probably” in this sentence. It expresses a likely conclusion, not certainty. Its position before ikke gives the combined reading “probably not”: de kan nok ikke ... = “they probably cannot/won’t be able to ...”. ikke is the ordinary Danish negation word, “not”. With a modal such as kan, it negates the ability or possibility expressed by the clause: kan ikke means “cannot” or, as in the fixed translation, “won’t be able to”. forny is the infinitive of forny (“renew”). After the modal kan, Danish uses the infinitive without an infinitive marker: kan forny = “can renew”. The form is unchanged here; kan carries the finite tense, while forny names the action. lånet means “the loan”. Its base noun is lån (“loan”), and -et marks the definite singular form: lånet = “the loan”. The fixed translation identifies this as the item they may renew; the form itself is a noun, not an inflected form of forny. heller ikke adds a negative alternative after the first negative possibility. In this sentence it means that renewal is not possible even by the additional method introduced afterward, giving the natural reading “not even”. A common reusable pattern is ikke ... heller ikke ... = “not ..., nor ...” or “not ..., not even ...”, depending on the context. telefonen is the definite singular form of telefon (“telephone”): telefonen = “the telephone”. In the larger phrase over telefonen, the preposition over makes the method “by phone” or “over the telephone”; the noun itself contributes “the telephone”. Together, Så kan de nok ikke forny lånet means “Then they probably won’t be able to renew the loan.” Heller ikke over telefonen adds that this is not possible even by phone. The complete utterance is therefore: “Then they probably won’t be able to renew it, even by phone.”

7. Jeg vil spørge, om der er reservationer, før jeg går ud fra, at jeg kan beholde den.

   I'll ask about holds before I assume I can keep it.

   Jeg vil

   I will

   spørge

   ask

   om

   whether

   der er

   there is / there are

   reservationer

   holds; reservations

   før

   before

   går ud fra

   assume

   kan

   can

   beholde

   keep

   den

   it; that one

   More detail

   Jeg vil means “I will” here. vil is a modal verb whose base form is ville; with jeg and the following infinitive, it expresses the speaker’s intention or expected future action. Danish modal verbs are followed by an infinitive without at. spørge means “ask”. It is the infinitive after vil. For example, Jeg vil spørge means “I will ask.” om introduces an indirect yes/no question: “whether” or “if”. It is different from the preposition om, which can have meanings such as “about” or “around”; here it links spørge to the question being asked. der er is the existential pattern “there is/there are”. er is the present form of være (“be”), while der is the formal existential subject in this construction. The following noun determines whether the English translation uses singular or plural: der er en reservation = “there is a hold”, while der er reservationer = “there are holds.” reservationer means “holds” or “reservations” here. Its singular base form is reservation; the ending -er marks the indefinite plural in this word. The surrounding context supports the library sense “holds.” før means “before”. In this utterance, it introduces the event that occurs later than the action in the main clause: the speaker will ask first, and only afterward assume that keeping it is possible. For example, Ring, før du kommer means “Call before you come.” går ud fra is a fixed verbal expression meaning “assume” or “take for granted” here. The form går is the present form of gå (“go”), but the complete expression has the figurative meaning “assume”; ud fra is part of the expression and should not be translated literally in this use. For example, Jeg går ud fra, at han kommer means “I assume that he is coming.” kan means “can” in this sentence, expressing possibility or ability. Its base form is kunne; kan is the present form. Like other Danish modal verbs, it is followed by an infinitive without at. beholde means “keep” or “retain”. It is the infinitive after kan, so kan beholde means “can keep.” The infinitive form does not change for person in this construction. den is the singular common-gender object pronoun meaning “it” or “that one” here. The fixed translation identifies it as the thing the speaker may keep; the form itself marks a singular common-gender referent, not a specific noun independently of context. Together, Jeg vil spørge, om der er reservationer means “I will ask whether there are holds.” før jeg går ud fra, at jeg kan beholde den means “before I assume that I can keep it.” The full utterance therefore means: “I’ll ask about holds before I assume I can keep it.” The subordinate clauses follow om and før, while the infinitives spørge and beholde follow the modal verbs vil and kan.

8. Hvis der er en reservation, skal du aflevere den i dag og låne den igen senere.

   If there is a hold, return it today and borrow it again later.

   Hvis der er

   if there is

   en reservation

   a hold/reservation

   skal du

   you must / are to

   aflevere

   return / hand in

   den

   it

   i dag

   today

   låne

   borrow

   igen

   again

   senere

   later

   More detail

   Hvis der er introduces a condition: “if there is/are …”. Danish uses der in this existential pattern. The verb er is the present form of være (“to be”); here the construction says that something exists. en reservation means “a reservation” in this sentence’s intended library sense, “a hold.” reservation is a common-gender noun, so its indefinite singular article is en. Its plural is reservationer, as seen in the preceding context. The article marks an indefinite noun; it does not by itself assert a particular numerical count beyond the noun’s singular form. skal du combines skal (“must / are to”) with du (“you”). skal is the present form of skulle and expresses the required action here. Because the conditional clause comes first, the result clause has the finite verb before the subject: skal du .... The same skal applies to both actions joined by og; it is not repeated before låne. aflevere means “to return” or “hand in.” It is the infinitive after skal, so it does not show the subject’s person. Example: Du skal aflevere bogen. — “You must return the book.” den means “it” here. It is a singular common-gender object pronoun used for the object being returned and borrowed in the sentence; the supplied texts do not identify that object more specifically. Danish distinguishes common-gender den from neuter det, and number also matters: plural objects use dem. i dag means “today,” a time expression made of the preposition i and the noun dag (“day”). Example: Jeg afleverer den i dag. — “I am returning it today.” låne means “borrow” in this sentence. It is an infinitive after the modal skal, including under the coordination with og. Depending on context, låne can describe borrowing or lending; låne ud more specifically means “lend.” Example: Jeg vil låne bogen. — “I want to borrow the book.” igen means “again.” It shows that the borrowing is repeated rather than being a first borrowing. Example: Hun vil læse bogen igen. — “She wants to read the book again.” senere means “later.” It is the comparative form of the adjective sen (“late”), used adverbially here: sen → senere → senest (“late” → “later” → “latest/last”). Example: Vi kommer senere. — “We will come later.” Together, Hvis der er en reservation sets the condition “if there is a hold.” The result is skal du aflevere den i dag og låne den igen senere: “you must return it today and borrow it again later.” The shared subject is du, and the shared modal skal applies to both infinitives, aflevere and låne; den is the object in both actions.

9. Jeg vil også nulstille min adgangskode, mens jeg er der.

   I'll reset my password while I'm there too.

   Jeg vil

   I will

   også

   also; too

   nulstille

   reset

   adgangskode

   password

   mens

   while

   jeg er

   I am

   der

   there

   More detail

   Jeg vil means “I will” here and expresses the speaker’s future plan. vil is the present form of ville; after it, the following verb remains in the infinitive. Danish vil can also express wanting in other contexts, but this sentence uses the future-plan reading. Example: Jeg vil lære dansk. — “I will learn Danish.” også adds “also” or “too”. Here it adds this planned reset to the surrounding actions. nulstille is the infinitive “to reset”. After vil, Danish uses this infinitive without an extra infinitive marker. Example: Jeg vil nulstille en kode. — “I will reset a code.” adgangskode means “password”. It is a compound noun formed from adgang and kode; the whole compound means “password”. In min adgangskode, min identifies the password as the speaker’s, so the noun phrase means “my password”. mens introduces a time clause meaning “while”. Example: Jeg læser, mens jeg venter. — “I read while I wait.” jeg er means “I am”. er is the present form of være (“to be”), and it has the same present-tense form for all persons. Here it begins the subordinate clause after mens. der means “there” here. It is a location word referring to a place understood from the situation; it is not a replacement for the subject jeg. Together, jeg er der means “I am there”. The meaningful structure is Jeg vil + infinitive nulstille + object min adgangskode: “I will reset my password.” også adds “too”, and mens jeg er der specifies when the reset will happen: “while I’m there.” The complete meaning is: “I’ll reset my password while I’m there too.”

10. Det burde gøre den næste fornyelse mindre stressende.

    That should make the next renewal less stressful.

    Det burde

    that should

    gøre

    make

    den

    the

    næste

    next

    fornyelse

    renewal

    mindre

    less

    stressende

    stressful

    More detail

    Det burde combines det, “that” here, with burde, the modal form corresponding to bør. In this sentence, burde expresses an expected result rather than certainty. After a modal such as burde, Danish uses the infinitive: Det burde hjælpe means “That should help.” gøre means “make” here. Its infinitive follows burde. The pattern gøre + an object + an adjective describes causing the object to have a quality: Det gør arbejdet lettere means “It makes the work easier.” den is the singular common-gender definite article used in this noun phrase before an adjective. It helps form den næste fornyelse, “the next renewal.” næste means “next.” It identifies something that comes next in an order or sequence. Example: næste uge means “next week.” fornyelse is a noun meaning “renewal.” It is related to the verb forny, “renew,” but fornyelse names the process or event. Here it is the noun in den næste fornyelse. mindre means “less” in this use. For quantity or degree, a useful comparison chain is lidt – mindre – mindst: “a little” – “less” – “least.” It can modify a following adjective: mindre vigtigt means “less important.” stressende means “stressful.” It is an adjective formed from the verb stresse, “stress,” and describes something that causes stress. In mindre stressende, mindre reduces the degree expressed by this adjective. As a whole, Det burde gøre den næste fornyelse mindre stressende means “That should make the next renewal less stressful.” The reusable pattern is subject + burde + infinitive + object + mindre + adjective: an expected cause is said to reduce a quality of the specified object.