Following up while protecting confidentiality | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Kan du tydeliggøre de næste trin i processen?

   Could you clarify the next steps in the process?

   Kan du

   Can you

   tydeliggøre

   clarify

   næste

   next

   trin

   steps

   processen

   the process

   More detail

   Kan du is a reusable question pattern: modal verb kan (“can”) comes before the subject du (“you”). The infinitive then follows the subject: Kan du + infinitive? means “Can/Could you …?” Here it introduces a request, not a statement about physical ability. Example: Kan du vente? — “Can you wait?” tydeliggøre is the infinitive meaning “clarify” or “make clear.” After kan, Danish uses the infinitive without an English-style “to”: kan + tydeliggøre. The verb describes making information clearer. Example: Hun vil tydeliggøre planen. — “She will clarify the plan.” næste means “next.” It is a comparison-related time or order word used to identify what comes immediately after something else. In de næste trin, it modifies trin; its form is næste here rather than a separate plural form. Example: næste uge — “next week.” trin means “steps” here, in the sense of stages in a process. Its form is also trin in the singular and plural: et trin — “one step”; flere trin — “several steps.” The surrounding words show the plural meaning in this sentence: de næste trin. processen means “the process.” The noun’s base form is proces; the ending -en marks the definite singular form, “the process,” for this common-gender noun. This is different from the indefinite form en proces, “a process.” Together, de næste trin means “the next steps,” and i processen means “in the process.” The preposition i links the steps to the process in which they occur. Combining these parts gives Kan du tydeliggøre de næste trin i processen? — “Could you clarify the next steps in the process?”

2. Panelet vil gennemgå dit materiale og beslutte, om der er behov for endnu en samtale.

   The panel will review your materials and decide whether another conversation is needed.

   Panelet

   the panel

   vil

   will

   gennemgå

   review

   dit

   your

   materiale

   materials

   beslutte

   decide

   om

   whether

   der er behov for

   there is a need for

   endnu en

   another

   samtale

   conversation

   More detail

   Panelet means “the panel” here. The noun is panel; Danish uses et panel, and the definite singular form is panelet. The ending -et marks this noun as definite singular; it does not mean that the panel is made up of any particular number of people. vil is the modal verb ville in the present form. With an infinitive, it commonly expresses a future event or intention: vil gennemgå = “will review.” The following verb remains in the infinitive, so gennemgå does not receive a personal ending here. gennemgå means “review” in this sentence: to examine material systematically. It is an infinitive and can be reused after modal verbs, for example: De vil gennemgå sagen. — “They will review the case.” dit means “your” before materiale. It is the possessive form used with a singular neuter noun (et-word). Compare din with a singular common-gender noun, as in din samtale (“your conversation”), and dine with plural nouns. The possessive identifies the material as belonging or relating to the addressed person; it does not itself indicate how much material there is. materiale means “material” or “materials” here. The form is singular and indefinite; Danish can use this mass-like noun in the singular where English uses either “material” or “materials.” Its definite form is materialet (“the material”), and its plural is materialer (“materials” or “types of material”), depending on context. beslutte means “decide.” It is an infinitive coordinated with gennemgå: vil gennemgå ... og beslutte ... means “will review ... and decide ...” The shared vil applies to both infinitives, so Danish does not need to repeat it before beslutte. om introduces an indirect yes/no question here, meaning “whether.” It connects the decision to the question of whether another conversation is needed. This is different from om in expressions about time or location, where its meaning can be “about” or “around”; its function here is determined by the following clause. der er behov for is a fixed impersonal pattern meaning “there is a need for.” The grammatical subject is the formal word der, while er is the present form of være (“be”). behov means “need,” and for links the need to what is needed. A reusable example is Der er behov for mere tid. — “There is a need for more time.” endnu en means “another” or “one more” before the singular common-gender noun samtale. Here it presents an additional conversation, not merely an unspecified conversation. endnu et is used before a singular neuter noun, while endnu nogle can introduce additional plural items. samtale means “conversation.” It is the indefinite singular form of the common-gender noun en samtale; the definite form is samtalen (“the conversation”), and the plural is samtaler (“conversations”). In this sentence it is the thing that may be needed. Together, Panelet vil gennemgå dit materiale says “The panel will review your materials.” og beslutte adds a second action by the same panel: “and decide.” The clause om der er behov for endnu en samtale specifies what they will decide: “whether another conversation is needed.” The complete utterance therefore means: “The panel will review your materials and decide whether another conversation is needed.”

3. Jeg kan uploade de ønskede prøver via ansøgningsportalen.

   I can upload the requested samples through the application portal.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   uploade

   upload

   ønskede

   requested

   prøver

   samples

   via

   through

   ansøgningsportalen

   the application portal

   More detail

   Jeg kan combines the subject pronoun jeg (“I”) with the present-tense modal kan (“can”). kan is the present form of kunne; Danish modal verbs do not change form for different subjects in the present tense. For example, Hun kan hjælpe means “She can help.” uploade is the verb “to upload.” After kan, the following verb appears in the infinitive, so the pattern is kan + infinitive: Jeg kan sende filen means “I can send the file.” ønskede describes prøver and means “requested” here. It is related to the verb ønske, “to wish” or “to want,” and is used adjectivally in the sense “wanted/requested.” The ending -ede is the form used with a definite or plural noun in this construction. For example, de ønskede dokumenter means “the requested documents.” The word de before the adjective helps make the noun phrase definite; it is not part of the quoted form ønskede itself. prøver is the plural of prøve, meaning “sample” here. Depending on context, prøve can also mean a test or an attempt, but the fixed translation establishes “samples” in this sentence. For example, Jeg sender prøverne means “I am sending the samples”; -ne marks the definite plural form. via is a preposition meaning “through” or “via.” It introduces the channel or route used for the uploading. For example, via e-mail means “via email.” ansøgningsportalen means “the application portal.” It is a compound built from ansøgning (“application”) and portal (“portal”), with the compound-linking -s; -en marks portal as definite in the compound. The whole form is singular definite. A related example is på ansøgningsportalen, “on the application portal.” Together, Jeg kan uploade means “I can upload,” de ønskede prøver means “the requested samples,” and via ansøgningsportalen specifies the route, “through the application portal.” The complete utterance therefore means: “I can upload the requested samples through the application portal.”

4. Den projektsammenfatning, du nævnte, ville være særligt nyttig.

   The project summary you mentioned would be especially useful.

   projektsammenfatning

   project summary

   nævnte

   mentioned

   ville være

   would be

   særligt

   especially

   nyttig

   useful

   More detail

   projektsammenfatning means “project summary” here. It is a compound noun: projekt + sammenfatning. The form is singular and indefinite; the preceding Den gives the noun phrase its definite “the” meaning. In Danish, a compound is written as one word, and the noun’s definite singular form would be projektsammenfatningen when the noun itself carries definiteness. nævnte is the past-tense form of nævne, “to mention.” Here it appears in the relative clause du nævnte, literally “you mentioned,” which identifies the summary as the one the addressee mentioned. Danish past tense does not change here for the subject du: du nævnte uses the same verb form as other subjects in the past tense. Example: Jeg nævnte rapporten. — “I mentioned the report.” ville være combines the past form of the modal verb ville with the infinitive være, “be.” Together here they express “would be.” The form ville is used with du as well as with other subjects; it is the modal construction, not a special past-tense form of være, that gives the conditional or hypothetical meaning. Example: Det ville være nyttigt. — “That would be useful.” særligt is an adverb meaning “especially” or “particularly.” It modifies the adjective that follows, strengthening nyttig; it does not describe the summary as a separate noun. Example: Det er særligt vigtigt. — “It is especially important.” nyttig means “useful.” It is the common-gender singular form of the adjective, agreeing with the singular common-gender subject projektsammenfatning in this sentence. The related forms are nyttigt with a singular neuter noun and nyttige in the plural or definite forms. Example: En nyttig vejledning — “A useful guide”; Et nyttigt råd — “A useful piece of advice.” Taken together, Den projektsammenfatning refers to the project summary, and du nævnte specifies which summary it is. ville være presents the assessment as “would be,” while særligt nyttig means “especially useful.” The complete meaning is: “The project summary you mentioned would be especially useful.”

5. Jeg kan inkludere kontekst uden at afsløre fortrolige kundeoplysninger.

   I can include context without exposing confidential client information.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   inkludere

   include

   kontekst

   context

   uden at

   without doing

   afsløre

   expose

   fortrolige

   confidential

   kundeoplysninger

   client information

   More detail

   Jeg kan means “I can” here: jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I,” and kan is the present-tense form of kunne, used for ability or possibility. After a modal such as kan, Danish normally uses the other verb in the infinitive without at: Jeg kan hjælpe = “I can help.” inkludere is the infinitive “to include.” In this sentence it follows kan, so it stays in the infinitive rather than taking a present-tense ending. Example: Vi kan inkludere et eksempel. = “We can include an example.” kontekst is the noun “context.” Danish commonly uses the compound-related form konteksten for “the context” when definite; the form in the sentence is indefinite and has no definite ending. uden at introduces an action that is avoided or does not occur: “without doing.” The at here belongs to the infinitive construction after uden; it is different from the modal pattern after kan, where the following infinitive normally has no at. afsløre is the infinitive “to expose” or “to reveal.” With uden at, it appears as uden at afsløre = “without exposing.” Example: Hun svarer uden at afsløre navnet. = “She answers without revealing the name.” fortrolige means “confidential” here. It is the form of the adjective used with the plural noun kundeoplysninger; the plural ending is carried by the adjective, not by the preceding word. The adjective can also appear in other forms depending on the noun phrase, for example fortrolig information = “confidential information” and fortrolige oplysninger = “confidential information” (plural). kundeoplysninger is a compound noun meaning “client information.” Its first part, kunde, identifies the type or source relation (“client”), while oplysninger means “information” or “details.” The compound is plural in form, which matches fortrolige. Example: Vi beskytter kundeoplysninger. = “We protect client information.” Together, Jeg kan inkludere kontekst says “I can include context.” uden at afsløre fortrolige kundeoplysninger adds that this can happen without exposing confidential client information. The complete meaning is therefore: “I can include context without exposing confidential client information.”

6. Den form for dømmekraft ved håndtering af fortrolige oplysninger er vigtig her.

   That kind of judgment when handling confidential information is important here.

   Den

   that

   form

   kind; type

   dømmekraft

   judgment

   håndtering

   handling

   fortrolige

   confidential

   oplysninger

   information

   vigtig

   important

   her

   here

   More detail

   Den is the common-gender singular form used here with form, and in this sentence it gives the intended meaning “that.” Danish den can also correspond to “the” in other contexts, so the following noun and the intended meaning matter. A reusable contrast is den bog (“that/the book”) versus det hus (“that/the house”): den goes with a common-gender singular noun, while det goes with a neuter singular noun. form means “kind” or “type” here, not physical shape. The pattern den form for X means “that kind of X”; for links the kind to what it consists of or concerns. Example: en anden form for hjælp — “another kind of help.” dømmekraft means the ability to make sound judgments. It is a common-gender noun and is used here as an uncounted concept. Example: God dømmekraft er nyttig. — “Good judgment is useful.” ved håndtering af expresses “when handling” or “in the handling of.” håndtering is a noun meaning “handling” and is related to the verb håndtere, “to handle.” In this construction, ved introduces the situation, while af introduces what is handled. Example: Ved håndtering af data skal man være forsigtig. — “When handling data, one must be careful.” fortrolige describes oplysninger. It is the plural form of the adjective fortrolig, meaning “confidential” here. The -e ending is used with plural nouns, as in fortrolige oplysninger; it is not evidence that this particular noun phrase is definite. Danish adjectives also use -e in definite noun phrases, but definiteness is not what causes the ending in this plural phrase. Example: fortrolige dokumenter — “confidential documents.” oplysninger means “information” in this sentence. It is the plural form of oplysning; Danish frequently uses this plural form for information or pieces of information. Example: Vi beskytter personlige oplysninger. — “We protect personal information.” vigtig means “important” here. It is the common-gender singular form of vigtig, agreeing with the singular subject den form; it is not agreeing with the plural oplysninger. Compare et vigtigt spørgsmål (“an important question,” neuter singular) and vigtige spørgsmål (“important questions,” plural). her is the adverb “here,” locating the statement in the relevant place or situation. Example: Det er vigtigt her. — “It is important here.” Together, Den form for dømmekraft means “that kind of judgment.” ved håndtering af fortrolige oplysninger specifies the situation: “when handling confidential information.” The predicate er vigtig her says that this kind of judgment is important here. Thus the whole utterance means: “That kind of judgment when handling confidential information is important here.”

7. Hvornår kan jeg forvente at høre om resultatet af gennemgangen?

   When should I expect to hear the outcome of the review?

   Hvornår

   when

   kan jeg

   can I

   forvente

   expect

   høre

   hear

   resultatet

   the outcome

   gennemgangen

   the review

   More detail

   Hvornår means “when” and asks about the time of an event. It is a question adverb and normally comes first in this direct question. Compare hvornår (“when”) with hvor (“where”) and hvordan (“how”). kan jeg combines present-tense kan (“can”) with the subject pronoun jeg (“I”). Kan is the present form of kunne; here it contributes the idea of what timing the speaker may reasonably expect, rather than physical ability. In a question, the verb comes before the subject: Kan jeg ...? means “Can I ...?” forvente is the infinitive “to expect,” from the base form forvente. After the modal kan, Danish uses the infinitive without an extra infinitive marker: jeg kan forvente means “I can expect.” With at, the same verb appears in an infinitive clause, as in at forvente (“to expect”). høre means “hear” and is also an infinitive. The sequence forvente at høre means “expect to hear”: at introduces the infinitive clause, and høre describes what the speaker expects to do. Example: Jeg forventer at høre fra dem. — “I expect to hear from them.” resultatet means “the outcome” or “the result.” It is the definite singular form of resultat: et resultat is “a result,” while resultatet is “the result.” The ending -et marks both the neuter singular form of the noun and its definite form here; it does not itself assert a numerical count beyond the singular form. gennemgangen means “the review.” It is the definite singular form of gennemgang: en gennemgang is “a review,” and gennemgangen is “the review.” The ending -en marks definiteness for this common-gender noun. The noun can refer to a review or examination of material, with the exact scope supplied by context. The final part, høre om resultatet af gennemgangen, means “hear about the outcome of the review.” om introduces the subject one hears about, while af links the outcome to the review. Together with the earlier elements, Hvornår kan jeg forvente at ...? forms a reusable question pattern: “When can I expect to ...?” The whole utterance therefore means: “When should I expect to hear the outcome of the review?” In the supplied context, the review concerns the matter under discussion, and the question asks when information about its outcome is expected—not when the review itself will take place.

8. Vi kontakter dig, efter at panelet har afsluttet sin drøftelse.

   We will contact you after the panel finishes its discussion.

   Vi

   we

   kontakter

   contact

   dig

   you

   efter at

   after

   panelet

   the panel

   har afsluttet

   has finished

   sin

   its own

   drøftelse

   discussion

   More detail

   Vi means “we” here: the speaker is included with at least one other person. It is the subject form; compare jeg (“I”) for one speaker. Example: Vi venter. — “We are waiting.” kontakter is the present-tense form of kontakte, “to contact.” Danish present tense can describe a future action when the context makes the timing future, as it does here. Example: Jeg kontakter dig i morgen. — “I will contact you tomorrow.” dig is the object form of “you” for one person. The subject and object forms contrast in Danish: du is “you” as subject, while dig is “you” as object. Example: Jeg ringer til dig. — “I call you.” efter at introduces a subordinate clause meaning “after” plus an event. The event after which something happens follows this construction: efter at .... Example: Vi mødes, efter at mødet er slut. — “We will meet after the meeting is over.” panelet means “the panel.” Its base form is panel; the definite singular form is panelet, formed with the ending -et. The form et panel is indefinite singular, while panelet refers to a specific panel. Example: Panelet mødes. — “The panel meets.” har afsluttet means “has finished” or “has completed.” har is the present form of have, used here as an auxiliary, and afsluttet is the past participle of afslutte. Together they form the perfect construction har afsluttet, describing a completed event. Example: Panelet har afsluttet mødet. — “The panel has finished the meeting.” sin means “its own” and is a reflexive possessive: it refers back to the subject of its clause, here panelet. It agrees with the possessed noun drøftelse, which is singular common gender; plural or neuter possessed nouns use other forms, such as sine and sit. Example: Panelet afslutter sin opgave. — “The panel finishes its own task.” drøftelse means “discussion.” It is a singular common-gender noun; its definite form is drøftelsen, “the discussion.” The word often describes a considered or formal discussion. Example: Drøftelsen fortsætter. — “The discussion continues.” Together, Vi kontakter dig gives “We will contact you,” with the present form kontakter understood as future from the context. efter at panelet har afsluttet sin drøftelse gives “after the panel has finished its discussion”: the panel is the subject of the subordinate clause, and sin links the discussion back to that subject. The complete meaning is “We will contact you after the panel finishes its discussion.”