Choosing a Restaurant That Fits the Group | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Det er svært at vælge en restaurant, fordi vi har nogle få krav.

   Choosing a restaurant is tricky because we have a few constraints.

   Det er

   it is

   svært

   difficult; tricky

   vælge

   choose

   restaurant

   restaurant

   fordi

   because

   vi har

   we have

   nogle få

   a few

   krav

   constraints; requirements

   More detail

   Det er is a common Danish way to frame an evaluation: literally “it is,” with det serving as the anticipatory subject for the infinitive clause that follows. In this sentence, it does not identify a particular object. svært means “difficult” or “tricky” here. It is the neuter singular form of svær; the related comparison is sværere “more difficult” and sværest “most difficult.” The neuter form fits the anticipatory det in this construction. For example: Det er svært. — “It is difficult.” vælge is the infinitive “to choose.” The preceding at is the infinitive marker, so at vælge means “to choose.” The form vælge is the base infinitive; a present-tense form is vælger, as in Vi vælger en restaurant — “We choose a restaurant.” restaurant is the noun “restaurant.” In the full expression, the indefinite article is the neighboring en: en restaurant — “a restaurant.” The plural is restauranter, and the definite singular is restauranten — “the restaurant.” fordi introduces a reason and means “because.” It connects the difficulty of choosing with the reason given afterward. For example: Jeg bliver hjemme, fordi jeg er træt. — “I stay home because I am tired.” vi har means “we have.” vi is the first-person plural pronoun “we,” and har is the present-tense form of have. In the present tense, har does not change for person or number: jeg har “I have,” vi har “we have.” nogle få means “a few,” indicating a small, unspecified number rather than an exact count. nogle can mean “some,” while adding få narrows this to “some, but not many.” For example: Vi har nogle få spørgsmål. — “We have a few questions.” krav means “requirements” or “constraints” here. It is the plural of et krav “a requirement”; the plural form is also krav, so the number is shown by the surrounding grammar rather than by a spelling change. The following context’s list of needs is compatible with this sense. Together, Det er svært at vælge en restaurant says “It is difficult to choose a restaurant,” with at vælge en restaurant naming what is difficult. fordi vi har nogle få krav adds the reason: “because we have a few constraints.” The complete meaning is: “Choosing a restaurant is tricky because we have a few constraints.”

2. Lad os først liste behovene: madmuligheder, støjniveau, afstand og komfort.

   Let's list the needs first: food options, noise level, distance, and comfort.

   Lad os

   let’s

   først

   first

   liste

   list

   behovene

   the needs

   madmuligheder

   food options

   støjniveau

   noise level

   afstand

   distance

   komfort

   comfort

   More detail

   Lad os is the Danish pattern for suggesting a shared action: “let’s …”. Lad is the imperative of lade (“let, allow”), and os means “us” in this construction. The following verb is in its infinitive form. Example: Lad os gå. — “Let’s go.” først means “first” here and places the listing before the other points being discussed. Example: Læs først spørgsmålet. — “Read the question first.” liste means “to list” here. After Lad os, it is the infinitive: Lad os liste ... — “Let’s list ...”. The same written form can also be the noun “list” in other contexts, but it is a verb here. behovene means “the needs”. Its base noun is behov (“need”). Useful forms are et behov (“a need”), behovet (“the need”), and behovene (“the needs”). Here, -ene marks definite plural; it does not state a particular numeric count. madmuligheder means “food options”. It is a compound of mad (“food”) and muligheder (“options”). The singular of muligheder is mulighed (“option, possibility”), and the compound is written as one word. støjniveau means “noise level”. It is a compound of støj (“noise”) and niveau (“level”). The noun can be used in forms such as et støjniveau (“a noise level”), støjniveauet (“the noise level”), and støjniveauer (“noise levels”). In this list, the bare form names noise level as a consideration and does not itself add a definite article. afstand means “distance”. Its common-gender forms include en afstand (“a distance”) and afstanden (“the distance”). In this list, the bare noun names distance as a consideration; the sentence does not specify a measured distance. komfort means “comfort”. It is commonly used as a mass or abstract noun without an article, as in komfort (“comfort”). The definite form is komforten (“the comfort”), while a different noun such as bekvemmelighed can refer to a convenience or comfort in a more countable sense. Here, komfort names comfort as one consideration and does not indicate a particular degree. Together, Lad os først liste gives “Let’s list first”, and behovene identifies the items as the needs under discussion. The colon introduces the list: madmuligheder, støjniveau, afstand og komfort — “food options, noise level, distance, and comfort”. Thus the whole utterance means: “Let’s list the needs first: food options, noise level, distance, and comfort.”

3. Én person har brug for vegetariske muligheder, og en anden vil gerne sidde et roligt sted.

   One person needs vegetarian options, and another wants somewhere quiet.

   Én

   one

   person

   person

   har brug for

   needs

   vegetariske

   vegetarian

   muligheder

   options

   og

   and

   en anden

   another

   vil gerne

   wants to

   sidde

   sit

   et roligt

   a quiet

   sted

   place

   More detail

   Én means “one” and explicitly presents a single person. The accent distinguishes the numeral in writing from the unstressed indefinite article en, as in en person (“a person”). person is the noun “person”; its plural is personer. har brug for is the reusable Danish construction “need”. It literally contains the present form har of have, but the three-word construction as a whole expresses needing something: Jeg har brug for hjælp. — “I need help.” The needed thing follows the construction, here vegetariske muligheder. vegetariske describes something vegetarian. It is the plural form of vegetarisk, matching plural muligheder; the same adjective also has the neuter singular form vegetarisk, as in et vegetarisk måltid — “a vegetarian meal.” muligheder means “options” or “possibilities” here. It is the plural of mulighed: en mulighed — “an option,” flere muligheder — “several options.” og connects the two coordinated clauses and means “and.” en anden means “another.” In this sentence it introduces a different single person without naming that person. anden is the common-gender singular form; compare et andet sted — “another place” and andre muligheder — “other options.” The article en marks a common-gender singular noun phrase; it does not by itself state the number “one” in the way the earlier Én does. vil gerne expresses wanting or being pleased to do something, commonly translated here as “wants to” or “would like to.” vil is the present form of the modal verb ville; gerne adds the positive wish. A modal is followed by an infinitive: Hun vil gerne lære dansk. — “She would like to learn Danish.” sidde is the infinitive “sit” or “be seated.” After vil gerne, it remains in the infinitive: vil gerne sidde. This choice describes the second person’s desired activity or position; it does not itself identify a particular seat. et roligt is the article plus adjective meaning “a quiet,” as part of the following noun phrase. et is the indefinite article used with a neuter singular noun. roligt is the neuter singular form of rolig (“quiet” or “calm”); compare en rolig person — “a calm person” and rolige steder — “quiet places.” sted means “place.” It is a neuter-gender noun, so the phrase uses et sted; its plural is steder. Together, et roligt sted means “a quiet place.” The first clause combines Én person (“one person”) with har brug for and its object vegetariske muligheder: “One person needs vegetarian options.” The second clause begins with en anden (“another [person]”), then vil gerne sidde (“wants to sit”) and the destination or setting et roligt sted (“a quiet place”). Thus the complete utterance is: “One person needs vegetarian options, and another wants somewhere quiet.”

4. Så ville et larmende burgersted ikke være et godt kompromis.

   Then a loud burger place would not be a good compromise.

   Så

   Then

   ville

   would

   larmende

   loud

   burgersted

   burger place

   være

   be

   godt

   good

   kompromis

   compromise

   More detail

   Så means “then” here: it links this sentence to the stated situation and presents the conclusion that follows from it. In other contexts, Danish så can also mean “so” or refer to a time sequence; here it introduces the conclusion. ville is the form used here for conditional or hypothetical “would.” The sequence ville være is a reusable pattern meaning “would be”: Det ville være godt. — “That would be good.” Ville is not the ordinary present-tense form for “is.” larmende describes something that makes or involves a lot of noise, so et larmende burgersted is “a loud/noisy burger place.” It is an adjective before the noun. In this use, the -ende form does not change for the neuter noun phrase; the neuter marking is visible in et, not in a special neuter form of larmende. burgersted is a compound noun meaning “burger place.” It combines burger with sted (“place”), but the complete compound is the useful noun in this sentence. Danish compounds are normally written as one word. Example: et roligt sted — “a quiet place.” være is the infinitive “be.” After the modal ville, Danish uses the infinitive: ville være, not a present-tense form. The phrase describes the proposed place with an adjective rather than describing an action. godt means “good” here and agrees with the neuter noun phrase et ... kompromis. Its adjective forms include god (common gender), godt (neuter), gode (plural or definite), bedre (comparative, “better”), and bedst (superlative, “best”). The comparative form is bedre, not a form derived by changing godt to godtere. kompromis means “compromise.” In this sentence it is the neuter noun after et, and godt describes it. The noun is the same form in the singular indefinite phrase et kompromis; the article et identifies its grammatical noun class, not a stated quantity. Together, et larmende burgersted is “a loud burger place,” ville være says “would be,” and et godt kompromis is “a good compromise.” With ikke, the full utterance means: “Then a loud burger place would not be a good compromise.” The sentence presents that assessment as conditional or hypothetical in response to the need for both suitable food options and a quiet place.

5. Denne restaurant i nærheden har vegetariske retter og et roligere område med siddepladser.

   This nearby restaurant has vegetarian dishes and a quieter seating area.

   Denne

   this

   restaurant

   restaurant

   i nærheden

   nearby

   har

   has

   vegetariske

   vegetarian

   retter

   dishes

   roligere

   quieter

   område

   area

   siddepladser

   seating

   More detail

   Denne means “this” here and points to one nearby restaurant. In Danish, denne is used with a singular common-gender noun; the neuter counterpart is dette, and the plural form is disse. The demonstrative itself identifies the noun as definite and nearby in the discourse or situation. restaurant is a noun meaning “restaurant”. It is a common-gender noun: en restaurant is “a restaurant”, while the form after denne is simply restaurant, without an indefinite article. i nærheden is a reusable phrase meaning “nearby” or literally “in the vicinity”. It describes the restaurant’s location. For example, Der er en café i nærheden. means “There is a café nearby.” har is the present-tense form of have, “to have”. It means “has” with the singular subject denne restaurant. Danish uses har for all persons in the present tense: jeg har “I have”, du har “you have”, and den har “it has”. vegetariske means “vegetarian” in vegetariske retter. The adjective is in its plural form because it describes plural retter; Danish adjectives commonly use -e with plural nouns. The singular forms are vegetarisk with a common-gender noun and vegetarisk with a neuter noun as well. retter means “dishes” in this sentence, specifically prepared items of food. Its singular base form is ret, “dish”; retter is the indefinite plural. For example, Restauranten serverer vegetariske retter. means “The restaurant serves vegetarian dishes.” roligere means “quieter” here. It is the comparative form of rolig, “quiet” or “calm”: rolig → roligere → roligst (“quiet” → “quieter” → “quietest”). The comparative describes område as quieter than some understood comparison; the sentence does not specify what it is being compared with. Danish comparative adjectives generally do not change for gender or number, so roligere keeps this form with a singular or plural noun. område means “area”. It is a neuter noun: et område is “an area”, and the definite singular is området, “the area”. Here it is the head noun of et roligere område, “a quieter area”. The article et marks the noun as neuter and indefinite; it does not itself state a numerical count. siddepladser means “seating” or “seats”. It is the plural of the compound noun siddeplads, literally a place for sitting. In med siddepladser, the phrase means “with seating”; med introduces what the area is provided with. For example, Caféen har siddepladser udenfor. means “The café has outdoor seating.” The sentence first identifies denne restaurant as “this restaurant”, then adds its location with i nærheden. The verb har introduces two things the restaurant has: vegetariske retter and et roligere område med siddepladser. Together, the complete meaning is: “This nearby restaurant has vegetarian dishes and a quieter seating area.”

6. Ville menuen passe til hele gruppen?

   Would the menu work for the whole group?

   Ville

   would

   menuen

   the menu

   passe

   work; fit

   hele

   whole; entire

   gruppen

   the group

   More detail

   Ville is the form used here for “would.” It is the past-tense form of vil (“will/want”), but with an infinitive it commonly expresses a conditional possibility: ville + infinitive = “would …”. It comes first because this is a yes/no question. menuen means “the menu.” The noun is menu; the ending -en marks definite singular for this noun. Compare en menu (“a menu”) with menuen (“the menu”). The definite form identifies the menu as a particular one, here the one being considered. passe means “fit,” “suit,” or, as in this sentence, “work/be suitable.” It is the infinitive after the modal ville, so it does not take a personal ending. A useful pattern is noget passer til nogen (“something suits/is suitable for someone”); here til introduces the people for whom the menu should be suitable. hele means “whole” or “entire.” It is the form of the adjective hel used with a definite noun phrase such as hele gruppen. Compare en hel gruppe (“a whole group”) with hele gruppen (“the whole group”). gruppen means “the group.” Its base noun is gruppe, and -n marks definite singular: en gruppe (“a group”) → gruppen (“the group”). The context and fixed translation support one particular group, but the sentence does not specify how many people are in it. Together, ville menuen passe til hele gruppen? follows the Danish yes/no-question pattern modal + subject + infinitive + ...: “Would the menu work for the whole group?” Til hele gruppen specifies who the menu should suit. The question asks about suitability; it does not state that the menu does or does not work.

7. Den ser enkel nok ud, og siddepladserne virker komfortable.

   It looks simple enough, and the seating seems comfortable.

   Den

   it; that

   ser … ud

   looks; appears

   enkel

   simple

   nok

   enough

   siddepladserne

   the seating; the seats

   virker

   seems; appears

   komfortable

   comfortable

   More detail

   Den is a Danish third-person singular pronoun. Here it refers to the menu from the preceding question, so the sentence says that the menu looks simple enough. Danish den is used with a common-gender singular referent; its grammatical form does not by itself mean “that” rather than “it.” ser ... ud is the construction for “looks” or “appears.” The verb is se (“to see”); ser is its present-tense form, and ud completes the appearance meaning. The separated parts form one construction: Det ser godt ud = “It looks good.” enkel means “simple” here, describing the menu’s apparent character. Its basic form is enkel; it can also have the comparative enklere (“simpler”) and superlative enklest (“simplest”). nok means “enough” in enkel nok: the menu appears simple to a sufficient degree. This is not the same as the separate adverbial use meaning “probably.” For example, Det er stort nok means “It is big enough.” siddepladserne means “the seating” or “the seats.” It is the definite plural form of siddeplads (“seat” or “seating place”): siddepladser is the indefinite plural, and siddepladserne adds definite meaning, “the seats.” virker means “seems” or “appears” here, based on the verb virke (“to seem; to function/work”). It is present tense and has the same form with different singular and plural subjects in the present: det virker = “it seems,” while siddepladserne virker = “the seats seem.” komfortable means “comfortable.” It is the form used here with the plural subject siddepladserne. The singular form is komfortabel, as in en komfortabel stol (“a comfortable chair”); the plural form is komfortable. The first clause, Den ser enkel nok ud, says that the menu appears sufficiently simple. The conjunction og joins it to siddepladserne virker komfortable, which says that the seating seems comfortable. Together: “It looks simple enough, and the seating seems comfortable.”

8. Så forklar, hvorfor dette sted passer til gruppen, før du bekræfter det.

   Then explain why this place fits the group before you confirm it.

   Så

   then

   forklar

   explain

   hvorfor

   why

   dette

   this

   sted

   place

   passer

   fits

   gruppen

   the group

   før

   before

   du

   you

   bekræfter

   confirm

   det

   it

   More detail

   Så means “then” here and introduces the requested next step. Danish så can have other uses, but this sentence uses it as a sequencing adverb. forklar is the imperative of forklare, “to explain.” The imperative addresses one person directly and commonly has the same form as the verb stem: forklar! = “explain!” For a statement about an ongoing or habitual action, use present forklarer, as in Du forklarer det tydeligt. (“You explain it clearly.”) hvorfor asks for a reason: “why.” It introduces the explanation clause hvorfor dette sted passer til gruppen. Compare fordi (“because”), which introduces the reason itself rather than asking for it: Forklar, hvorfor du kommer. (“Explain why you are coming.”) dette means “this” and is the neuter singular form of the demonstrative. It agrees with the neuter noun sted; the choice of dette reflects the noun’s grammatical gender and singular number, not merely physical proximity. sted means “place.” Its common definite form is stedet (“the place”), while the form here is indefinite because dette already identifies it as “this place.” Example: Dette sted er roligt. (“This place is quiet.”) passer is the present form of passe, “to fit” or “to suit.” In this sentence, dette sted passer til gruppen says that the place is suitable for the group. Danish present verbs generally do not change form for singular versus plural subjects: stedet passer and stederne passer both use passer. gruppen means “the group.” The base noun is gruppe; the ending -en marks the common-gender definite singular form. A plural definite form is grupperne (“the groups”). The preposition til is not included in this phrase entry, but passe til is the useful pattern for “fit/suit” someone or something. før means “before” and introduces the time clause før du bekræfter det. Here it places the explaining before the later confirmation. Example: Læs teksten, før du svarer. (“Read the text before you answer.”) du is the second-person singular pronoun, “you.” It is the subject of bekræfter, so the clause addresses one person directly. Danish uses I for second-person plural “you.” bekræfter is the present form of bekræfte, “to confirm.” The sentence uses it for a later action viewed in relation to the earlier explanation; after før, Danish can use the present form even when the confirmation will happen later. Example: Hun bekræfter aftalen. (“She confirms the agreement.”) det is a neuter singular pronoun meaning “it” in the fixed reading. Its exact referent is not independently identified by the pronoun’s form; here, the supplied translation supports the general meaning “it” without naming the referent more specifically. Together, Så forklar gives the instruction “Then explain.” The hvorfor clause specifies what must be explained: dette sted passer til gruppen, “why this place fits the group.” The final clause, før du bekræfter det, makes the order explicit: explain that suitability before you confirm it. The complete meaning is: “Then explain why this place fits the group before you confirm it.”

9. Jeg vil forklare grunden og spørge, om nogen har betænkeligheder.

   I'll share the reason and ask whether anyone has a concern.

   Jeg vil

   I will

   forklare

   explain

   grunden

   the reason

   spørge

   ask

   om

   whether

   nogen

   anyone

   har

   has

   betænkeligheder

   concerns

   More detail

   Jeg vil means “I will” here. vil is the present-tense modal form of ville; with jeg and an infinitive, it expresses the speaker’s intention or a future action in this sentence. After this modal, the next verb is the bare infinitive, without at. Example: Jeg vil læse. — “I will read.” forklare is the infinitive “to explain.” Its base form is also forklare; the form itself does not show person or number. Example: Hun vil forklare det. — “She will explain it.” grunden means “the reason.” It is the definite singular form of grund: en grund means “a reason,” while grunden means “the reason.” The ending -en marks common-gender definite singular in this noun. In the utterance, it is the object of forklare. spørge is the infinitive “to ask.” Like forklare, it follows vil as a bare infinitive. Example: Jeg vil spørge læreren. — “I will ask the teacher.” om introduces an indirect yes-or-no question here and is naturally translated as “whether.” It links spørge to the question om nogen har betænkeligheder. nogen means “anyone” in this question. It refers to an unspecified person or persons rather than identifying a particular individual. Its exact grammatical form does not identify who that person is. har is the present form of have, “to have.” Danish verbs generally do not change form for different persons or numbers, so har can be used with jeg, du, han, hun, and plural subjects; here its subject is nogen. Example: De har tid. — “They have time.” betænkeligheder means “concerns” or “qualms.” It is the indefinite plural of betænkelighed, “a concern.” The plural ending shows that the target text presents the concern as plural, even though the fixed English translation uses the natural singular phrase “a concern.” Together, Jeg vil forklare grunden means “I will explain the reason.” Then og spørge adds a second action, “and ask.” The indirect question om nogen har betænkeligheder means “whether anyone has concerns.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I’ll share the reason and ask whether anyone has a concern.”

10. Klare grunde mindsker akavethed senere.

    Clear reasons reduce awkwardness later.

    Klare

    clear

    grunde

    reasons

    mindsker

    reduces

    akavethed

    awkwardness

    senere

    later

    More detail

    Klare describes grunde as clear. Its base form is klar; in this phrase it has the plural form klare, agreeing with the plural noun. Danish also uses klarere for “clearer” and klarest for “clearest.” Example: En klar besked hjælper. — “A clear message helps.” grunde means reasons here. Its singular base form is grund, and grunde is the plural. Example: Jeg har en grund. — “I have a reason.” mindsker means “reduces” in the sentence. It is the present-tense form of mindske. Danish present-tense verbs generally use the same form across subjects, so mindsker can occur with both singular and plural subjects. Example: Det mindsker risikoen. — “It reduces the risk.” akavethed names the uncomfortable or awkward feeling or situation being reduced. It is a singular indefinite noun; its definite form is akavetheden (“the awkwardness”). Example: Stilhed kan skabe akavethed. — “Silence can create awkwardness.” senere means “later” here and functions as an adverb, placing the reduction at a later time. It is related to the adjective/adverb contrast involving sen (“late”); senere is the comparative form used for “later.” Example: Vi taler senere. — “We’ll talk later.” The sentence is assembled in the order Klare grunde (clear reasons) + mindsker (reduce) + akavethed (awkwardness) + senere (later). The plural noun phrase is the subject, mindsker is the present-tense verb, akavethed is the object, and senere adds the time. Together, the utterance means: “Clear reasons reduce awkwardness later.”