Troubleshooting a washing machine | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Vaskemaskinen stoppede midt i programmet.

   The washing machine stopped halfway through the cycle.

   Vaskemaskinen

   washing machine

   stoppede

   stopped

   midt i

   halfway through; in the middle of

   programmet

   the cycle

   More detail

   Vaskemaskinen means “the washing machine” here. It is the definite singular form of vaskemaskine (“washing machine”): en vaskemaskine is “a washing machine,” while vaskemaskinen is “the washing machine.” The ending -en marks definiteness for this noun; it does not itself mean “one.” stoppede means “stopped” in this sentence. It is the past-tense form of stoppe (“to stop”). Danish past tense commonly uses -ede with verbs such as stoppe; the form tells us that the stopping occurred before the speaking time. For example: Maskinen stoppede. — “The machine stopped.” midt i is a reusable expression meaning “in the middle of” or, with a process, “halfway through.” The preposition i is part of this expression. Here it introduces what the process was: the machine stopped during the cycle rather than completing it. programmet means “the cycle” in the fixed translation. Its basic form is program, and its definite singular form is programmet: et program (“a program”) → programmet (“the program”). In this appliance context, program refers to a washing cycle, so the translation uses “cycle.” Together, Vaskemaskinen identifies the subject, stoppede states the past event, and midt i programmet specifies when it happened within that process. The whole utterance means: “The washing machine stopped halfway through the cycle.”

2. Er der en advarsel på skærmen?

   Is there a warning on the screen?

   Er der

   is there

   advarsel

   warning

   på

   on

   skærmen

   the screen

   More detail

   Er der is the Danish existential question pattern meaning “is there …?” It asks whether something exists or is present in a place, rather than asking whether a known object is located there. In a statement, the corresponding pattern is Der er ... (“there is/are ...”); the question changes the order to Er der ...?. advarsel means “warning” here. It is a common-gender noun: the indefinite form is en advarsel, while the definite singular form is advarslen (“the warning”). The noun itself is singular in this utterance because the form is preceded by the indefinite article en; that article identifies the noun as a common-gender noun, but it does not by itself assert a numeric count as a separate meaning. Example: Der er en advarsel. — “There is a warning.” på is the preposition “on” in this location pattern. Danish uses på for something situated on a surface or displayed on a medium such as a screen. Example: Beskeden står på skærmen. — “The message is on the screen.” skærmen means “the screen.” It is the definite singular form of skærm: en skærm (“a screen”) → skærmen (“the screen”). Danish commonly marks definiteness on the noun with a suffix rather than with a separate word; -en here is the definite ending for this common-gender noun. Together, Er der + en advarsel asks whether a warning is present, and på skærmen specifies its location. The complete utterance therefore means “Is there a warning on the screen?”

3. Der står, at filteret måske er blokeret.

   It says the filter may be blocked.

   Der står

   it says

   filteret

   the filter

   måske

   maybe

   blokeret

   blocked

   More detail

   Der står is a common Danish impersonal construction meaning “it says” or “it is written.” Here, der is an expletive element in the construction, not a person who is speaking, and står is the present-tense form of stå. In this use, stå refers to written content. Example: Der står, at døren er åben. — “It says that the door is open.” The pattern Der står, at ... introduces the content of a written message. filteret means “the filter.” Its base form is the noun filter; -et marks definite singular: et filter = “a filter,” filteret = “the filter.” The definite form presents the filter as identifiable in the context; it does not by itself explain how it was identified. måske is an adverb meaning “maybe” or “possibly.” It expresses uncertainty about the clause that follows. Example: Filteret er måske beskidt. — “The filter may be dirty.” blokeret means “blocked.” It is the past participle of blokere, and with er (the present form of være, “be”) it describes the filter’s state: er blokeret = “is blocked.” The possibility comes from måske, not from blokeret. Together, Der står introduces the written content; at introduces the content clause; filteret is that clause’s subject; and måske er blokeret says that the filter may be in a blocked state. The whole utterance means: “It says the filter may be blocked.”

4. Tjek manualen, før du prøver tilfældige knapper.

   Check the manual before trying random buttons.

   Tjek

   check

   manualen

   the manual

   før

   before

   du

   you

   prøver

   try

   tilfældige

   random

   knapper

   buttons

   More detail

   Tjek means “check” here. It is the imperative of tjekke, used for a direct instruction. The subject is understood as “you,” so Danish does not need a separate subject in this main clause. For example: Tjek døren. — “Check the door.” manualen means “the manual.” It is the definite singular form of the common-gender noun manual: en manual means “a manual,” while manualen means “the manual.” The ending -en marks definiteness here; it is not a separate word. før introduces a time relation meaning “before.” It can connect a full clause, as in the reusable pattern før [subject] [verb]: før du går — “before you leave.” du is the second-person singular pronoun “you.” It is the subject of the clause after før. Danish du does not itself show gender. prøver means “try” in this sentence. It is the present-tense form of prøve; the same form is used with du: du prøver. In this clause, the present form describes the later action relative to the checking instruction. Example: Du prøver igen. — “You try again.” tilfældige means “random” here. It is the plural form of the adjective tilfældig, agreeing with the plural noun knapper. Compare en tilfældig knap — “a random button” — with tilfældige knapper — “random buttons.” knapper means “buttons.” It is the indefinite plural of the noun knap: en knap — “a button,” knapper — “buttons.” The plural ending is part of the noun form, while tilfældige is the adjective agreeing with it. Together, Tjek manualen gives the instruction “Check the manual.” The comma introduces the time clause før du prøver tilfældige knapper, literally “before you try random buttons.” Thus the complete utterance means “Check the manual before trying random buttons.”

5. Manualen siger, at jeg skal rense filteret forsigtigt.

   The manual says I should clean the filter carefully.

   Manualen

   the manual

   siger

   says

   jeg skal

   I should / I have to

   rense

   clean

   filteret

   the filter

   forsigtigt

   carefully

   More detail

   Manualen means “the manual” here. It is the definite singular form of manual (“manual”): manual = “a manual,” manualen = “the manual.” The ending -en marks definiteness for this common-gender noun. siger means “says” here. It is the present-tense form of sige (“to say”) for han, hun, den, det, or a singular noun; Danish present verbs do not take a separate ending for each person. Example: Hun siger sandheden. — “She tells the truth.” jeg skal means “I should” in the fixed translation. jeg is “I,” and skal is the present form of the modal verb skulle (“should,” “be supposed to,” or “have to”). With an infinitive, skal expresses what the subject is expected or instructed to do: Jeg skal ringe. — “I should call” or “I have to call,” depending on context. The manual is presented as the source of this instruction, so “should” fits the supplied translation. rense means “to clean.” It is the infinitive form, used after the modal skal; Danish does not add an infinitive marker equivalent to English “to” here. Example: Du skal rense maskinen. — “You should clean the machine.” filteret means “the filter.” It is the definite singular form of the neuter noun filter: et filter = “a filter,” filteret = “the filter.” The -et ending marks definiteness for this noun; it is not the verb ending of rense. forsigtigt means “carefully” in this sentence. It is the adverbial form related to the adjective forsigtig (“careful”). It describes how the cleaning should be done. Example: Åbn låget forsigtigt. — “Open the lid carefully.” The sentence is built as Manualen siger, at jeg skal rense filteret forsigtigt. The main clause Manualen siger says that the manual gives the information. After at (“that”), the subordinate clause has jeg as the subject, skal as the modal, rense as the infinitive action, filteret as the object, and forsigtigt as the manner adverb. Together: “The manual says I should clean the filter carefully.”

6. Så tag stikket ud af maskinen, før du rører ved noget.

   Then unplug the machine before you touch anything.

   Så

   then

   tag

   take

   stikket

   the plug

   ud af

   out of

   maskinen

   the machine

   før

   before

   du rører ved

   you touch

   noget

   anything

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and links this instruction to the preceding step. It can also introduce a consequence in other contexts. tag is the imperative of tage (“to take”). The imperative directly addresses the listener and does not show a separate subject. Here, tag combines with stikket and ud af to mean “unplug”. stikket is the definite singular form of stik, “plug”. In this noun pattern, et stik means “a plug”, while stikket means “the plug”. ud af means “out of”. With tage stikket ud af ..., it forms a reusable pattern meaning “take the plug out of ...”, naturally rendered here as “unplug ...”. maskinen is the definite singular form of maskine, “machine”: en maskine means “a machine”, while maskinen means “the machine”. Here, ud af maskinen identifies the machine from which the plug is removed. før means “before” and introduces the event that follows it. The clause før du ... places the unplugging before that event. du means “you”. In standard Danish, du is the singular second-person pronoun; the plural second-person pronoun is I. Here, du is the subject of rører. rører ved is the present-tense form of røre ved, “touch”. The combination røre ved is the relevant pattern for physically touching something. Example: Rør ikke ved ledningen. — “Do not touch the wire.” noget means “anything” in this før-clause, referring to an unspecified thing to be touched. In other contexts, the same word can mean “something”. Example: Jeg hører noget. — “I hear something.” Together, Så tag stikket ud af maskinen gives the direct instruction “Then unplug the machine.” The following før du rører ved noget specifies that this should happen before you touch anything. The complete utterance is therefore “Then unplug the machine before you touch anything.”

7. Bagefter, skal jeg genstarte programmet?

   After that, should I restart the cycle?

   Bagefter

   After that

   skal jeg

   should I

   genstarte

   restart

   programmet

   the cycle

   More detail

   Bagefter means “after that” or “afterwards.” It is an adverb and can be reused to place an action after an already mentioned event. Example: Bagefter går vi hjem. — “Afterwards, we go home.” skal jeg combines skal with jeg. Jeg means “I”; skal is a modal verb that can express obligation, intention, or— as in this question—what the speaker is expected or supposed to do. In a question, Skal jeg ...? is a reusable pattern meaning “Should I ...?” or “Am I to ...?” The modal is followed by the infinitive: Skal jeg vente? — “Should I wait?” genstarte is the infinitive “restart.” It is formed with the prefix gen-, meaning “again,” and starte, “start,” but genstarte is used as the verb itself. After skal, the infinitive remains genstarte: jeg skal genstarte — “I should restart.” programmet is the definite singular form of program, “program.” The indefinite form is et program; the definite form adds -et: programmet, “the program.” In this fixed translation, that object is rendered as “the cycle.” Together, Bagefter places the action after the preceding event, skal jeg asks whether the speaker should perform it, and genstarte programmet supplies the action and object. The whole utterance therefore means: “After that, should I restart the cycle?”

8. Genstart det én gang, men kontakt serviceafdelingen, hvis advarslen kommer igen.

   Restart it once, but contact maintenance if the warning returns.

   Genstart

   restart

   det

   it

   én gang

   once

   men

   but

   kontakt

   contact

   serviceafdelingen

   the maintenance department

   hvis

   if

   advarslen

   the warning

   kommer igen

   returns

   More detail

   Genstart means “restart” here and is the imperative form of genstarte, used for a direct instruction. Danish imperatives commonly use the verb stem without an added subject: Genstart programmet. = “Restart the program.” det is a singular neuter pronoun meaning “it” here. Its specific referent is supplied by the fixed translation and context, but the sentence itself does not identify that referent by a noun. Danish also has den for singular common-gender reference; the choice between det and den follows the grammatical gender of the noun being referred to, not the action of restarting. én gang means “once.” gang is the noun “time/occasion,” and én specifies one occurrence. Compare to gange = “twice/two times.” The accent in én can emphasize the number one. men connects two contrasting instructions and means “but.” The first instruction is to restart it once; the second is to contact the maintenance department under a condition. kontakt is the imperative of kontakte, “to contact.” It is another direct instruction, parallel to Genstart: Kontakt lægen. = “Contact the doctor.” The verb is not an auxiliary; the following noun phrase is the person or organization to be contacted. serviceafdelingen means “the maintenance department” in this sentence. It is a definite singular noun: serviceafdeling means “maintenance department,” and -en marks the definite form. Danish commonly marks definiteness on the noun itself, rather than using a separate word equivalent to English “the.” hvis introduces a condition and means “if.” A reusable pattern is hvis + clause, as in Ring, hvis du har spørgsmål. = “Call if you have questions.” advarslen means “the warning.” It is the definite singular form of advarsel (“warning”): advarsel → advarslen. The definite ending identifies a particular warning in this context; it does not itself specify who issued it. kommer igen means “returns” here. kommer is the present-tense form of komme, “come,” and igen means “again.” Together they express the warning appearing or occurring again, which is why the fixed translation uses “returns.” The same pattern can describe repetition more generally: Fejlen kommer igen. = “The error returns.” The complete structure is Genstart det én gang (“Restart it once”), followed by men kontakt serviceafdelingen (“but contact the maintenance department”), and then the condition hvis advarslen kommer igen (“if the warning returns”). Thus the whole utterance gives one restart instruction and adds a conditional instruction to contact maintenance if the warning appears again.

9. Jeg følger de sikre trin først.

   I will follow the safe steps first.

   Jeg

   I

   følger

   follow

   de

   the

   sikre

   safe

   trin

   steps

   først

   first

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun, meaning “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person carrying out the action. For example: Jeg læser. — “I am reading.” følger is the present-tense form of følge, “to follow.” Danish verbs do not change for person or number in the present tense, so jeg følger, du følger, and de følger use the same verb form. In this sentence, the present form is understood with the future intention expressed by the fixed translation: “will follow.” de is the definite article used before a plural noun, corresponding here to “the.” It is not the separate pronoun de meaning “they”; its role here is shown by the following noun trin. sikre means “safe” here. It is the plural/definite form of the adjective sikker, used with de ... trin. Compare et sikkert trin — “a safe step” — with de sikre trin — “the safe steps.” The adjective changes because it modifies a plural definite noun; sikre is not the form of the noun trin. trin means “steps” here. Its singular indefinite form is also trin: et trin — “a step.” Its plural is trin, while the definite plural is trinene: de sikre trin — “the safe steps,” but de sikre trinene would not be the normal combination because de already marks definiteness before the noun phrase. først is an adverb meaning “first.” It places following the safe steps before other possible actions in the sequence. For example: Læs instruktionen først. — “Read the instruction first.” Together, Jeg følger gives “I will follow” in the intended context, de sikre trin gives “the safe steps,” and først adds the ordering “first.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I will follow the safe steps first.”

10. Enkel fejlfinding er nyttig, men risiker ikke at beskadige maskinen.

    Simple troubleshooting is useful, but do not risk damaging the machine.

    Enkel

    simple

    fejlfinding

    troubleshooting

    nyttig

    useful

    risiker

    risk

    beskadige

    damage

    maskinen

    the machine

    More detail

    Enkel describes fejlfinding here. It is the common-gender singular form of enkel; compare enkelt with a neuter singular noun and enkle in plural or definite contexts. Example: en enkel løsning means “a simple solution.” fejlfinding means troubleshooting: finding and resolving a fault or problem. It is a noun, and its definite form is fejlfindingen, “the troubleshooting.” In this sentence it is the activity being described as useful. er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” Danish uses the same present form with different subjects, so er can mean “am,” “is,” or “are” depending on the subject. Here it links Enkel fejlfinding with nyttig. nyttig means useful. The adjective has the forms nyttig with a common-gender singular noun, nyttigt with a neuter singular noun, and nyttige in plural or definite noun phrases. Example: Det er nyttigt means “It is useful.” men means “but” and joins the useful statement to a contrasting instruction. risiker is the imperative of risikere, “to risk.” The imperative addresses the listener directly. With ikke, the phrase risiker ikke means “do not risk.” Example: Risiker ikke fejl means “Do not risk errors,” though the exact object depends on context. beskadige is the infinitive of beskadige, “to damage.” After the imperative expression risiker ikke, Danish uses at plus the infinitive: risiker ikke at beskadige ... means “do not risk damaging ...”. The infinitive itself does not show the subject’s person or number. maskinen means “the machine.” Its indefinite form is en maskine; the ending -n makes it definite: maskinen. The definite form identifies the machine intended by the fixed translation, without changing the verb form. Taken together, Enkel fejlfinding er nyttig says that simple troubleshooting is useful. men risiker ikke at beskadige maskinen contrasts this with a direct negative instruction: do not risk damaging the machine. The whole utterance therefore means, “Simple troubleshooting is useful, but do not risk damaging the machine.”