Checking an email's tone before sending | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kan du tjekke tonen i denne e-mail, før jeg sender den?

   Could you check the tone of this email before I send it?

   Kan du

   Can you

   tjekke

   check

   tonen

   the tone

   denne

   this

   e-mail

   email

   før

   before

   jeg

   I

   sender

   send

   den

   it

   More detail

   Kan du is a reusable Danish question pattern: kan is the present form of kunne (“can/be able to”), and du is the subject “you.” In a yes/no question, the modal comes before the subject. The following verb stays in the infinitive: Kan du hjælpe? = “Can you help?” tjekke means “to check.” It is the infinitive used after kan; Danish modal constructions use the modal plus an infinitive without an English-style “to.” Example: Jeg kan læse det. = “I can read it.” tonen means “the tone” here. The base noun is tone, and tonen is its singular definite form, corresponding to “the tone.” An indefinite noun is en tone (“a tone”), while tonen identifies a particular tone. Example: Tonen er venlig. = “The tone is friendly.” denne means “this” and is a demonstrative determiner. It is singular and agrees with the common-gender noun e-mail here: denne e-mail = “this email.” Danish also has dette with neuter singular nouns and disse for plural nouns; the form is chosen by the noun’s grammatical properties, not by physical distance alone. e-mail is the noun “email.” In this sentence it is the noun modified by denne, and it is also the thing referred to later by den. før means “before” and introduces the time clause that follows. The pattern før + clause can be reused for an event that happens earlier than another: Ring, før du går. = “Call before you leave.” jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I.” It is the subject of the clause after før. Unlike English, Danish uses the same subject form jeg regardless of whether it is in the main clause or a subordinate clause. sender means “send” here. Its base form is sende, and sender is the present-tense form. Danish present tense can describe a planned or intended future event when the context makes that time clear, as it does after før here: Jeg sender den senere. = “I will send it later.” den means “it” here and is the object of sender; it refers to e-mail. It is the common-gender singular object/pronoun form. The same form can also serve other grammatical roles in Danish, so its exact function comes from its position and the surrounding clause. Together, Kan du tjekke tonen i denne e-mail asks whether the listener can check the tone in this email. før jeg sender den adds the time condition “before I send it,” with den referring back to the email. The complete utterance therefore means: “Could you check the tone of this email before I send it?”

2. Den er professionel, men åbningen virker lidt skarp.

   It is professional, but the opening feels a little sharp.

   Den

   it

   professionel

   professional

   åbningen

   the opening

   virker

   feels

   lidt

   a little

   skarp

   sharp

   More detail

   Den is a singular common-gender pronoun. It means “it” here, but the supplied texts do not uniquely identify which common-gender singular referent it denotes. Danish uses det for a singular neuter-gender referent. The pronoun itself marks the grammatical class of its referent; the surrounding context supplies the intended reference. professionel means “professional” here. It is the common-gender singular form of the adjective; the neuter singular form is professionelt, and the plural or definite form is professionelle. The form agrees with the subject represented by Den. er is the present-tense form of være (“to be”). In Den er professionel, it links the subject with a description: “It is professional.” men connects the two parts with contrast. It introduces the qualification that follows the positive assessment: Den er professionel, men ... means “It is professional, but ...”. åbningen means “the opening.” It is the definite singular form of åbning: en åbning means “an opening,” while the suffix -en marks “the opening” for this common-gender noun. Example: Åbningen er kort. — “The opening is short.” virker is the present-tense form of virke. With an adjective, it commonly means “seem” or “come across as,” describing an impression rather than asserting an objective physical property. Example: Beskeden virker venlig. — “The message seems friendly.” lidt is an adverb meaning “a little” or “slightly.” It reduces the strength of the following description: lidt skarp is “a little sharp,” not simply “sharp.” skarp means “sharp” here. In communication, it can describe wording or an opening that sounds pointed or potentially harsh; its literal meaning can also describe something with a sharp edge. Its comparison forms are skarp, skarpere (“sharper”), and skarpest (“sharpest”). Example: Denne formulering er skarpere. — “This wording is sharper.” Together, Den er professionel gives a positive assessment, while men åbningen virker lidt skarp adds a limited criticism of the opening's impression. The whole utterance means: “It is professional, but the opening feels a little sharp.”

3. Jeg vil gerne minde dem om forespørgslen uden at lyde utålmodig.

   I want to remind them about the request without sounding impatient.

   Jeg vil gerne

   I want to

   minde

   remind

   dem

   them

   om

   about

   forespørgslen

   the request

   uden at

   without

   lyde

   sound

   utålmodig

   impatient

   More detail

   Jeg vil gerne is a reusable way to express “I want to” or, in a request, “I would like to.” vil is the present form of ville; gerne adds the speaker’s willing or desired attitude. The subject is Jeg (“I”), and the following verb remains in the infinitive: Jeg vil gerne hjælpe means “I would like to help.” minde means “remind.” In this sentence it is the infinitive after vil gerne. A useful pattern is minde nogen om noget — “remind someone about something”: Jeg minder hende om mødet means “I remind her about the meeting.” dem means “them” here. It is the object form of the third-person plural pronoun; the corresponding subject form is de: De hjælper dem means “They help them.” The fixed sentence identifies the reminded people only as plural “them.” om means “about” in the construction minde nogen om noget. It links the people being reminded to the matter they should remember. forespørgslen means “the request” here. It is the definite singular form of forespørgsel (“request” or “inquiry”): en forespørgsel is “a request,” while forespørgslen is “the request.” The definite ending is part of this noun form. uden at introduces an action that is not performed: “without [doing something].” It is a reusable pattern before an infinitive, as in uden at vente — “without waiting.” lyde means “sound” here, in the sense of giving a particular impression through one’s wording or manner. It is the infinitive after at: Det kan lyde venligt means “It can sound friendly.” utålmodig means “impatient.” It is an adjective describing how the speaker might sound. The useful forms include utålmodig (common singular), utålmodigt (neuter singular), and utålmodige (plural or definite contexts). In lyde utålmodig, the form shown is the common singular form used with this subject construction. Together, Jeg vil gerne minde dem om forespørgslen means “I want to remind them about the request.” uden at lyde utålmodig adds the manner: the speaker wants to do this without sounding impatient. The complete utterance therefore means, “I want to remind them about the request without sounding impatient.”

4. Prøv med en blødere åbning, hvor du skriver, at du følger op.

   Try a softer opening that says you are following up.

   Prøv

   Try

   blødere

   softer

   åbning

   opening

   skriver

   write

   følger op

   follow up

   More detail

   Prøv is the imperative of prøve, “to try.” It addresses one or more people directly and gives the suggestion “try.” The present form is prøver, as in Du prøver (“You try”); the form in the sentence is the command form. blødere is the comparative form of the adjective blød, “soft.” Here it means “softer” and describes åbning. The useful comparison chain is blød (“soft”), blødere (“softer”), and blødest (“softest”). Blødere is the comparative form; unlike some Danish adjective forms, it does not change here for the noun’s gender or number. The indefinite article en marks the noun phrase as indefinite and singular in this sentence, without by itself asserting a numerical count. Together, en blødere åbning introduces a softer opening as the suggested option. åbning is a noun meaning “opening,” here referring to the opening wording of a message. It is related to the verb åbne, “to open,” but åbning is the noun used for the opening itself. Example: En god åbning gør beskeden venligere. — “A good opening makes the message friendlier.” skriver is the present-tense form of skrive, “to write.” In du skriver, du is the subject, so this clause means “you write.” The present form can describe writing now, a general action, or a planned action when the context supports that reading; here it describes what the opening says. følger op is the present-tense form of the two-part expression følge op, “to follow up.” The form følger is formed from følge with the present-tense ending -r; Danish present-tense verbs do not change this form according to whether the subject is jeg, du, or another person. Op remains a separate word. Example: Jeg følger op i morgen. — “I will follow up tomorrow.” The pattern Prøv med ... means “Try with ...” or, naturally here, “Try using ...”. En blødere åbning names the proposed wording choice. Hvor du skriver, at ... introduces a clause describing what the opening contains: literally, an opening “where you write that ...”. Inside that clause, du is the subject of skriver, and at du følger op gives the content of what is written. Together, the utterance means: “Try a softer opening that says you are following up.”

5. Det lyder bedre. Er min forespørgsel tydelig nok?

   That sounds better. Is my request clear enough?

   Det

   that/it; a neutral subject pronoun

   lyder

   sounds

   bedre

   better

   min

   my

   forespørgsel

   request

   tydelig

   clear

   nok

   enough

   More detail

   Det is a neutral singular pronoun used here as the subject of “That sounds better.” The translation and context support the general reference to something previously under discussion, but they do not identify a more specific noun. Danish also uses det in other pronoun and impersonal expressions. lyder means “sounds” here. It is the present-tense form of lyde (“to sound”): det lyder = “that/it sounds.” For example, Det lyder godt means “That sounds good.” bedre is the comparative form of god (“good”): god → bedre → bedst (“good” → “better” → “best”). Here it compares the current version with an earlier version; it does not mean simply “good.” min means “my” before a singular common-gender noun. Forespørgsel is a common-gender noun (en forespørgsel, “a request” or “an inquiry”), so the matching possessive form is min. Before a singular neuter noun Danish uses mit, and before a plural noun it uses mine. forespørgsel means “request” or “inquiry.” Its plural is forespørgsler. The combination min forespørgsel means “my request.” tydelig means “clear” or “clear to understand.” It describes min forespørgsel here. Because that noun is singular and common gender, the adjective has the form tydelig; with a singular neuter noun, the corresponding form is normally tydeligt. nok means “enough” in this construction. After an adjective, adjective + nok asks whether something reaches a sufficient degree: Er det tydeligt nok? means “Is it clear enough?” Nok is separate from the adjective and adds the sufficiency meaning. The second sentence uses the Danish yes/no-question pattern Er ...?, with er (“is/are”) before the subject. Min forespørgsel is the subject, and tydelig nok describes it: Er min forespørgsel tydelig nok? means “Is my request clear enough?” Together, Det lyder bedre means “That sounds better,” comparing the current version with an earlier version. Then Er min forespørgsel tydelig nok? asks whether the speaker’s request is sufficiently clear. The complete utterance means: “That sounds better. Is my request clear enough?”

6. Forklar det næste trin i samme afsnit.

   Explain the next step in the same paragraph.

   Forklar

   explain

   det

   the

   næste

   next

   trin

   step

   samme

   same

   afsnit

   paragraph

   More detail

   Forklar is the imperative of forklare (“to explain”). It addresses the reader directly and asks for an explanation. The present sentence uses the imperative rather than a statement such as du forklarer (“you explain”). det is the neuter singular form used with the noun phrase det næste trin. In this construction, the combination corresponds to “the next,” rather than expressing a separate object by itself. Danish uses det with neuter singular nouns; the form is different from common-gender den in comparable noun phrases. næste means “next.” It is the form used before the noun in this definite noun phrase. The same form also appears with common-gender nouns, so its visible form does not by itself show the noun’s gender. For example, den næste dag means “the next day.” trin means “step.” It is a neuter noun: et trin is “a step,” while trinnet is “the step.” Its plural is also trin in the indefinite form, as in to trin (“two steps”). samme means “same.” It normally identifies something as identical to, or matching, something already understood from the context. It does not carry the noun’s gender here; the form is samme before both common- and neuter-gender nouns. For example, den samme bog means “the same book.” afsnit means “paragraph.” It is a neuter noun: et afsnit is “a paragraph,” and afsnittet is “the paragraph.” Together, det næste trin means “the next step.” The preposition i introduces the location or setting, and i samme afsnit means “in the same paragraph.” Thus Forklar det næste trin i samme afsnit. means “Explain the next step in the same paragraph.”

7. Jeg har også tilføjet ekstra baggrund nær slutningen.

   I also added extra context near the end.

   Jeg har

   I have

   også

   also

   tilføjet

   added

   ekstra

   extra

   baggrund

   context

   nær

   near

   slutningen

   the end

   More detail

   Jeg har introduces the speaker and the verb phrase. Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. Har is the present-tense form of have (“to have”); here it works as an auxiliary, not as a separate possession meaning. Også means “also” and adds this action to something already understood. Its position after har is natural in this sentence. Compare Jeg har også skrevet (“I have also written”) with Jeg har ikke skrevet (“I have not written”): også adds information, while ikke negates it. Tilføjet is the past participle of tilføje (“to add”). With the auxiliary har, it forms the perfect construction har tilføjet, meaning that the adding has occurred. The participle itself does not show who performed the action; Jeg supplies the subject here. Example: Hun har tilføjet et eksempel. — “She has added an example.” Ekstra describes baggrund as additional or extra. In this use it functions as a modifier before the noun and does not take a separate form for singular versus plural: ekstra information and ekstra oplysninger both use ekstra. Baggrund is the noun meaning “background” or “context”. In this sentence, the fixed translation identifies the intended sense as “context”. Its indefinite form is en baggrund; the definite form is baggrunden, “the background/context”. Example: Baggrunden er nyttig. — “The context is helpful.” Nær means “near” or “close to” and introduces a location or point in time. Here it places the addition close to the end, rather than describing the added context itself. Example: Vi mødes nær stationen. — “We meet near the station.” Slutningen is the definite form of the noun slutning, “end”. The ending -en marks the definite singular form of this common-gender noun: en slutning means “an end”, while slutningen means “the end”. In nær slutningen, the definite form presents the end as an identifiable point in the relevant text or sequence. Together, Jeg har også tilføjet says “I have also added”, ekstra baggrund specifies what was added, and nær slutningen locates it close to the end. The complete utterance therefore means: “I also added extra context near the end.”

8. Baggrunden er nyttig. Tjek modtagerlisten, før du sender den.

   The context is helpful. Check the recipient list before you send it.

   Baggrunden

   the context

   er

   is

   nyttig

   helpful

   Tjek

   check

   modtagerlisten

   the recipient list

   før

   before

   sender

   send

   den

   it

   More detail

   Baggrunden is the definite singular form of baggrund, “background/context.” The ending -en marks a common-gender singular noun in its definite form. Here it is the subject: “the context.” Example: En baggrund kan være nyttig. — “A context/background can be helpful.” er is the present-tense form of at være, “to be.” Danish present-tense verbs do not change according to the subject’s person or number, so er can be used with both “I am” and “they are.” nyttig means “helpful” here and describes Baggrunden. It is the common-gender singular form of the adjective; the neuter singular form is nyttigt, and the plural or definite form is nyttige. In this sentence, the predicate adjective agrees with the common-gender singular subject. Tjek is the imperative of at tjekke, “to check.” It gives a direct instruction. Example: Tjek adressen. — “Check the address.” modtagerlisten means “the recipient list.” It is a definite compound noun: modtager means “recipient,” and liste means “list.” The definiteness ending is attached to the final part of the compound, giving listen; the full compound is modtagerlisten. Example: Jeg opdaterer modtagerlisten. — “I am updating the recipient list.” før means “before” and introduces the time clause før du sender den, “before you send it.” It connects one action with an action that must happen earlier or later in time, depending on the sentence’s main action; here, checking is placed before sending. sender is the present-tense form of at sende, “to send.” Danish verbs generally do not take different present-tense endings for different persons, so the form remains sender with du. Example: Du sender en besked. — “You send a message.” den is a common-gender singular object pronoun meaning “it” in the supplied translation. It is the direct object of sender; the fixed input does not identify a more specific referent beyond that intended “it.” Together, Tjek modtagerlisten gives the instruction “Check the recipient list.” The time clause før du sender den adds “before you send it.” The complete utterance therefore means: “The context is helpful. Check the recipient list before you send it.”

9. Det var let at overse. Den forkerte person blev inkluderet ved en fejl.

   That was easy to miss. The wrong person was included by mistake.

   Det

   that

   var

   was

   let

   easy

   overse

   miss

   Den

   the

   forkerte

   wrong

   person

   person

   blev inkluderet

   was included

   ved en fejl

   by mistake

   More detail

   Det refers here to the situation or fact just mentioned and is translated as “that.” In Danish, det can also be a neuter pronoun or a formal subject, so its exact role comes from the sentence and context rather than from the word alone. var is the past-tense form of være (“to be”). The pattern Det var ... places the situation in the past. For example: Det var svært. — “That was difficult.” let means “easy” here and is the adjective describing the situation after var. Its opposite is svær or vanskelig (“difficult”). In this sentence, let does not mean “light” in the physical sense. overse is the base form of the verb meaning “to overlook” or “to miss.” It follows the infinitive marker at: at overse — “to overlook/miss.” The construction let at overse means “easy to miss.” For example: Det er let at glemme. — “It is easy to forget.” Den is the definite form used with a singular common-gender noun. Here it belongs with person, giving “the person”; it is not itself the meaning “wrong.” forkerte is the definite-form adjective corresponding to forkert (“wrong”). It takes -e here because it modifies a definite noun: den forkerte person. Compare en forkert person — “a wrong person” and den forkerte person — “the wrong person.” person means “person.” Its indefinite form is en person, while its definite form is personen (“the person”). In the fixed sentence, it is the singular participant identified as the wrong person. blev inkluderet expresses passive past meaning: “was included.” Blev is the past form of blive (“become/be”), and inkluderet is the past participle of inkludere (“include”). The passive pattern blev + past participle presents the person as receiving the action rather than as performing it. For example: Hun blev inviteret. — “She was invited.” ved en fejl is a fixed expression meaning “by mistake” or “accidentally.” The whole expression, rather than fejl alone, gives the manner of the event. Together, Det var let at overse means “That was easy to miss.” The second sentence combines Den forkerte person (“the wrong person”) with the passive blev inkluderet (“was included”) and adds ved en fejl (“by mistake”): “The wrong person was included by mistake.”

10. Fjern den person fra listen.

    Remove that person from the list.

    Fjern

    remove

    den

    that

    person

    person

    listen

    the list

    More detail

    Fjern is the imperative of fjerne, “to remove.” The imperative gives a direct instruction and commonly has the same form for one or more people. Compare fjern (“remove!”) with fjerner (“remove/removes” in the present tense) and fjernede (“removed” in the past). Example: Fjern filen. — “Remove the file.” den means “that” here and points to a specific singular noun. In den person, it is the form used with a common-gender singular noun; it is not the quantity “one.” Danish also uses det with neuter nouns and de with plural nouns, as in det hus (“that house”) and de personer (“those people”). The demonstrative can be contrasted with the less specific article in en person (“a person”). person means “person.” Its indefinite form is en person, and its definite singular form is personen (“the person”). The noun is singular in the fixed utterance; the plural is personer (“people/persons”). Example: Jeg ser en person. — “I see a person.” listen means “the list.” It is the definite singular form of liste: en liste (“a list”), listen (“the list”), and lister (“lists”). The ending -en marks the definite singular form of this common-gender noun. Example: Navnet står på listen. — “The name is on the list.” Together, Fjern den person means “Remove that person,” and fra listen adds the source or place from which the removal is made: “from the list.” The whole utterance is therefore the direct instruction “Remove that person from the list.”

11. Så er e-mailen klar til at blive sendt.

    Then the email is ready to send.

    Så

    then

    er

    is

    e-mailen

    the email

    klar

    ready

    til at

    to

    blive sendt

    be sent

    More detail

    Så means “then” here and places this statement in sequence with something already established. It can also have other uses in Danish, but this sentence uses it as a time or sequence adverb. er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” The present form can describe a current state: E-mailen er klar means “The email is ready.” e-mailen means “the email.” The base noun is e-mail; the ending -en marks the definite singular form for this noun: en e-mail is “an email,” while e-mailen is “the email.” The ending belongs to the noun, not to er or klar. klar means “ready” in this sentence. It is a predicative adjective describing e-mailen. With a common-gender singular noun such as e-mail, the form is klar; compare the neuter form in Dokumentet er klart — “The document is ready.” til at introduces an infinitive phrase, roughly “to” plus an action. After klar til, it identifies what something is ready for: Jeg er klar til at gå means “I am ready to leave.” blive sendt means “be sent.” blive is the infinitive of blive, “to become” or, in this construction, an auxiliary used to form the passive. sendt is the past participle of sende, “to send.” Together, blive sendt presents the email as receiving the action rather than sending something itself. The sentence combines Så (“then”) with er (“is”) and the subject e-mailen (“the email”). klar states its current condition, and til at blive sendt specifies the action for which it is ready. Thus the whole utterance means “Then the email is ready to send.”