Strengthening a Report with Evidence | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg ville gerne drøfte rapporten, før den bliver delt bredt.

   I wanted to discuss the report before it is shared widely.

   Jeg ville gerne

   I wanted to

   drøfte

   discuss

   rapporten

   the report

   før

   before

   den

   it

   bliver delt

   is shared

   bredt

   widely

   More detail

   Jeg ville gerne means “I wanted to” here. ville is the past-tense form of vil (“will/want”); with gerne (“gladly”), it expresses a past desire: jeg ville gerne drøfte ... = “I wanted to discuss ...”. The present pattern jeg vil gerne ... commonly means “I would like to ...”. The following verb stays in the infinitive. Example: Jeg vil gerne lære dansk. — “I would like to learn Danish.” drøfte means “to discuss” and is an infinitive. It follows the modal expression without an infinitive marker: ville gerne drøfte = “wanted to discuss”. diskutere is another common Danish verb for “discuss”, but drøfte is also a useful, often somewhat formal choice. rapporten means “the report”. rapport is the base noun, and -en marks its definite singular form: rapport can mean “a report” in an indefinite use, while rapporten means “the report”. The definite form identifies a particular report in this utterance. før means “before”. Here it introduces a clause, connecting the discussion with a later event: før ... = “before ...”. Example: Vi spiser, før filmen begynder. — “We eat before the film begins.” den means “it” here and refers to the report identified by rapporten. It is a third-person singular pronoun with common-gender form; Danish uses den for a common-gender singular noun and det for a neuter-gender singular noun. In this sentence, den is the subject of the following clause. bliver delt means “is shared”. bliver is the present form of blive, and delt is the past participle of dele (“to share” or “divide”). Together, blive plus a past participle forms a passive construction: the report receives the action rather than performing it. Example: Dokumentet bliver sendt i morgen. — “The document is sent tomorrow.” bredt means “widely” in this sentence. It modifies the passive action delt, specifying its extent: the report is shared with broad distribution. The related adjective is bred (“broad”); bredt is the form used with a neuter singular adjective and is also used adverbially. Here it functions adverbially, not as a noun modifier. Together, Jeg ville gerne drøfte rapporten expresses “I wanted to discuss the report”, and før den bliver delt bredt adds the time condition “before it is shared widely”. The complete utterance is therefore: “I wanted to discuss the report before it is shared widely.”

2. Jeg havde på fornemmelsen, at nogle afsnit måske havde brug for mere dokumentation.

   I suspected some sections might need more evidence.

   Jeg

   I

   havde på fornemmelsen

   had a feeling

   nogle

   some

   afsnit

   sections

   måske

   perhaps

   havde brug for

   needed

   mere

   more

   dokumentation

   evidence

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here. It is the first-person singular subject pronoun. The corresponding subject pronoun for “you” is du, while “we” is vi. havde på fornemmelsen is a fixed expression meaning “had a feeling” or, in this context, “suspected.” Havde is the past form of have; Danish uses havde for past “had” with all persons, rather than changing it for singular and plural. The expression have på fornemmelsen, at ... is a reusable way to say that you have an impression or suspicion that something is the case. The at-clause states what the impression concerns. nogle means “some” when referring to an unspecified part of a plural set. It is used here with afsnit, so the sentence refers to some sections without stating an exact number. In other contexts, nogle can also mean “some” in the sense of an unspecified amount, but the following noun determines the relevant reading here. afsnit means “sections” in this sentence. It can also mean “paragraphs” when the context concerns the parts of a written text. Here, nogle afsnit is plural. The indefinite singular is et afsnit, the definite singular is afsnittet, and the definite plural is afsnittene. måske means “perhaps” or “maybe.” It marks the proposition as uncertain; it does not itself assert that the sections actually needed anything. For example, Måske kommer hun senere. means “Maybe she will come later.” havde brug for is the past form of the expression have brug for, “to need.” The form havde is again the past form of have, and brug for belongs to the fixed need-expression rather than functioning as a separate noun phrase meaning simply “use for” here. Jeg har brug for hjælp. means “I need help,” whereas Jeg havde brug for hjælp. means “I needed help.” mere means “more” and compares an amount with a reference amount. It is the comparative form related to meget (“much” or “a lot”); mest means “most.” In mere dokumentation, it indicates an additional or greater amount of documentation, without stating a numerical quantity. dokumentation means “documentation” here, and the fixed translation renders it as “evidence” because the context concerns support for sections of a report. It is a mass noun in this use, so it does not indicate a particular count of pieces. Mere dokumentation er nødvendig. means “More documentation is necessary.” Together, Jeg havde på fornemmelsen, at ... gives “I suspected that ...”. Inside the at-clause, nogle afsnit is the subject, måske adds uncertainty, and havde brug for mere dokumentation says that the sections might need more evidence. The complete utterance therefore means: “I suspected some sections might need more evidence.”

3. Argumentationen er stærk, men anbefalingerne virker ikke tilstrækkeligt underbyggede.

   The argument is strong, but the recommendations feel unsupported.

   Argumentationen

   the argument

   stærk

   strong

   anbefalingerne

   the recommendations

   virker

   seem

   ikke

   not

   tilstrækkeligt

   sufficiently

   underbyggede

   supported

   More detail

   Argumentationen means “the argumentation” or, in this context, “the argument.” Its base form is argumentation; the ending -en marks definite singular for this common-gender noun. The definite form presents the argument as identifiable in the situation. Example: Argumentationen er klar. — “The argumentation is clear.” stærk describes the argumentation as strong. The adjective is in its common-gender singular form here, agreeing with argumentationen. Useful forms are stærk with a common-gender singular noun, stærkt with a neuter singular noun, and stærke with plural or definite noun phrases. Example: Et stærkt argument — “A strong argument.” anbefalingerne means “the recommendations.” The base noun is anbefaling; anbefalinger is its indefinite plural, and anbefalingerne is the definite plural. The ending -ne therefore identifies several specific recommendations. Example: Anbefalingerne er praktiske. — “The recommendations are practical.” virker is the present form of virke, used here with the meaning “seem” or “appear,” not “work” in the mechanical sense. The present form is virker for all persons in ordinary Danish present-tense use. Example: Det virker rimeligt. — “It seems reasonable.” ikke places negation on the following assessment: something does not seem to have the stated quality to the required degree. Example: Forslaget virker ikke klart. — “The proposal does not seem clear.” tilstrækkeligt is an adverb meaning “sufficiently” or “enough,” expressing degree. It modifies underbyggede here, so the issue is the degree of support. The related adjective is tilstrækkelig, as in tilstrækkelig dokumentation — “sufficient documentation.” underbyggede means “supported” or “substantiated” here. It is the plural form of the adjective or past-participle form underbygget, matching plural anbefalingerne. The combination tilstrækkeligt underbyggede means “sufficiently supported.” Example: Påstanden er godt underbygget. — “The claim is well substantiated.” The first clause uses the frame Argumentationen er stærk: the definite noun is linked to the adjective by er, giving “The argument is strong.” The second clause begins with men, “but,” and evaluates the specific recommendations: anbefalingerne virker ikke tilstrækkeligt underbyggede means that they do not seem sufficiently substantiated. Together, the utterance says: “The argument is strong, but the recommendations feel unsupported.” Here “unsupported” conveys the practical conclusion of not being sufficiently substantiated; the Danish wording explicitly expresses this as insufficient degree rather than an absolute claim that there is no support at all.

4. Jeg lagde for stor vægt på interviews og brugte ikke nok data.

   I leaned too heavily on interviews and did not use enough data.

   lagde … vægt på

   put emphasis on

   for stor

   too great

   interviews

   interviews

   brugte

   used

   ikke nok

   not enough

   data

   data

   More detail

   lagde ... vægt på is a fixed Danish construction meaning “put emphasis on” or “gave importance to.” The verb lagde is the past tense of lægge (“to put”): lægge → lagde. In this sentence, the construction describes the speaker’s past choice of what to emphasize. The preposition på belongs to the construction and introduces what received the emphasis. Example: Hun lagde vægt på kvalitet. — “She emphasized quality.” for stor means “too great” here. Stor means “great” or “large,” and its comparative is større (“greater/larger”); its superlative is størst (“greatest/largest”). The word for marks an excessive degree: for stor is “too great,” not simply “great.” Here, stor describes the amount of emphasis expressed by vægt. interviews is the plural of interview, referring here to interviews as a source of information. Danish commonly forms this plural with -s for this borrowed noun. Example: Vi gennemførte tre interviews. — “We conducted three interviews.” brugte is the past tense of bruge (“to use”): bruge → brugte. It refers here to the speaker’s use of data in the past. Example: De brugte nye metoder. — “They used new methods.” ikke nok combines negation with nok, which means “enough” in this context. It says that the amount used failed to reach a sufficient level; it does not itself specify a number. Ikke normally comes before the element it negates in this clause. Example: Jeg sov ikke nok. — “I did not sleep enough.” data means “data” here: information or evidence used for analysis. It is the object of brugte; the sentence does not specify a particular amount or type beyond saying that it was insufficient. Example: Analysen kræver mere data. — “The analysis requires more data.” Together, Jeg lagde for stor vægt på interviews says that the speaker placed excessive emphasis on interviews. og brugte ikke nok data adds a second past action by the same speaker: the speaker did not use a sufficient amount of data. The whole utterance therefore means: “I leaned too heavily on interviews and did not use enough data.”

5. Mere data ville gøre konklusionerne sværere at afvise.

   Adding data would make the conclusions harder to dismiss.

   Mere

   more

   data

   data

   ville

   would

   gøre

   make

   konklusionerne

   the conclusions

   sværere

   harder

   at afvise

   to dismiss

   More detail

   Mere means “more” here and modifies data. It is the comparative form of meget (“much/a lot”) and is used with an uncountable amount or mass, while flere is used with countable plural items. Example: Jeg har brug for mere tid. — “I need more time.” data means “data” here. Danish commonly uses this form for information or a body of data; the form itself does not need to be changed to express the comparison. Example: Vi har samlet mere data. — “We have collected more data.” ville expresses “would” in this sentence. It is the past-tense form of vil (“will/want”), but with an infinitive it commonly marks a hypothetical or conditional result rather than simple past time. Example: Det ville hjælpe. — “That would help.” gøre means “make” here. It is the infinitive after ville; ville gøre forms the “would make” part of the sentence. In the pattern gøre + object + adjective, the adjective describes the result caused in the object. Example: Det gør arbejdet lettere. — “It makes the work easier.” konklusionerne means “the conclusions.” The base noun is konklusion, and -erne marks the definite plural: konklusioner means “conclusions,” while konklusionerne means “the conclusions.” The noun is the object affected by gøre and the thing whose dismissibility is being described. sværere means “harder” or “more difficult” here. It is the comparative of svær (“difficult/hard”); the comparison is carried by svær, not by konklusionerne. Example: Opgaven blev sværere. — “The task became harder.” at afvise means “to dismiss” here. at marks the infinitive, and afvise is the infinitive form of the verb. In this construction, the conclusions are the thing that someone would dismiss: sværere at afvise means “harder to dismiss.” Example: Det er svært at afvise argumentet. — “It is difficult to dismiss the argument.” Together, Mere data is the condition, ville gøre introduces its hypothetical effect, and konklusionerne sværere at afvise describes that effect: the conclusions would become harder to dismiss. The complete meaning is “Adding data would make the conclusions harder to dismiss.”

6. Jeg kan revidere det afsnit og tydeligt markere de usikre punkter.

   I can revise that section and flag uncertain points clearly.

   Jeg kan

   I can

   revidere

   revise

   det

   that

   afsnit

   section

   tydeligt

   clearly

   markere

   flag; mark

   usikre

   uncertain

   punkter

   points

   More detail

   Jeg kan introduces the speaker as the subject and uses kan to express present ability or possibility. After this modal verb, Danish uses the infinitive without at: Jeg kan revidere = “I can revise.” The same modal also governs the coordinated verb markere later in the sentence. Example: Jeg kan hjælpe. — “I can help.” revidere means “revise” here: improve or change an existing text. It is the infinitive, the form used after kan; the present form is reviderer. Example: Hun reviderer rapporten. — “She is revising the report.” det is the neuter singular demonstrative determiner meaning “that” in this context. It agrees with afsnit, which is a neuter singular noun (et afsnit). As a demonstrative, it points to a specific section rather than merely introducing an unspecified one. afsnit means “section” here, specifically a section of a text. Its plural is afsnit; Danish neuter nouns can have the same form in singular and plural, so the surrounding words help identify the number. In this sentence, det afsnit is singular because of det. Example: Jeg læser et afsnit. — “I am reading a section.” tydeligt means “clearly” in this sentence. It is the adverbial form of the adjective tydelig and describes how the marking is carried out. Example: Skriv tydeligt. — “Write clearly.” markere means “mark” or, with this translation, “flag.” It is another infinitive coordinated with revidere, and kan applies to it as well: kan ... markere. The word can refer to visibly indicating text or points. Example: Hun markerer de vigtigste steder. — “She marks the most important places.” usikre means “uncertain” here. It describes punkter and has the plural/definite form required in de usikre punkter. The adjective’s base form is usikker; usikre is not the noun’s form. Example: Det er et usikkert punkt. — “It is an uncertain point.” punkter means “points” here, referring to items or issues. It is the plural of punkt. The preceding de, the adjective form usikre, and the noun form punkter make de usikre punkter a definite plural noun phrase: “the uncertain points.” Together, Jeg kan revidere det afsnit means “I can revise that section.” The coordinated og markere de usikre punkter tydeligt adds “and flag the uncertain points clearly.” Thus the whole utterance states that the speaker can revise that section and clearly indicate the uncertain points.

7. Det ville øge troværdigheden uden at svække det overordnede budskab.

   That would improve credibility without weakening the overall message.

   Det ville

   That would

   øge

   improve; increase

   troværdigheden

   credibility

   uden at

   without

   svække

   weaken

   overordnede

   overall

   budskab

   message

   More detail

   Det ville combines det (“that/it”) with ville, the past form of the modal verb whose present form is vil. Here ville expresses a hypothetical result, so the combination means “that would.” Det is a neuter singular pronoun; the sentence does not identify a more specific referent for it. øge is the infinitive “to increase/improve.” It follows ville, so the modal carries the tense and øge remains in the infinitive. Danish uses the same verb for increasing something and improving it when the context concerns a quality such as credibility. Example: Det kan øge sikkerheden. — “That can improve safety.” troværdigheden means “the credibility.” Its base noun is troværdighed; the ending -en marks singular definite form. The definite form refers to the relevant credibility as an identifiable quality in this context. Example: Troværdigheden er vigtig. — “Credibility is important.” uden at introduces an action that is avoided or does not occur: “without” + an infinitive clause. The at marks the following infinitive. Example: Hun gik uden at svare. — “She left without answering.” svække is the infinitive “to weaken.” With uden at, it describes the action that would not happen: “without weakening.” Its base form is also svække; unlike ville, it is not marked for tense here. Example: Det kan svække argumentet. — “That can weaken the argument.” overordnede means “overall” here and modifies budskab. Its base form is overordnet; the -e form is used with the definite noun phrase introduced by det. This is an adjective form, not an inflection of budskab. Example: den overordnede plan — “the overall plan.” budskab means “message.” It is a neuter noun, shown by det in det overordnede budskab. In this phrase, budskab is the singular indefinite form of the noun; definiteness is expressed by the combination det + adjective in the definite form. Together, Det ville øge troværdigheden says “That would improve credibility,” and uden at svække det overordnede budskab adds “without weakening the overall message.” The complete utterance is therefore: “That would improve credibility without weakening the overall message.”

8. Jeg sender dig den opdaterede version, før den bliver delt med den større gruppe.

   I'll send you the updated version before it goes to the wider group.

   Jeg

   I

   sender

   send

   dig

   you

   den

   the

   opdaterede

   updated

   version

   version

   før

   before

   bliver delt

   is shared

   den

   the

   større

   larger

   gruppe

   group

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here, the subject who performs the sending. Danish personal pronouns distinguish forms such as jeg (“I”), du (“you,” subject), and dig (“you,” object); the choice depends on the pronoun’s role, not on politeness or number alone. sender is the present-tense form of sende, “to send.” Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change according to the subject: jeg sender is “I send/am sending,” while du sender is “you send.” In this sentence, the present form refers to the intended future action in the English translation; the time relation is supplied by the utterance and its context. dig is the object form of “you.” The pattern sende nogen noget can mean “send someone something,” so Jeg sender dig ... means “I’ll send you ...”: dig is the recipient, while the following noun phrase is what is sent. Compare Du sender mig ... — “You send me ...” (mig is the object form of “I”). den before opdaterede version is the definite article for a singular common-gender noun phrase. It identifies a specific version rather than asserting a quantity. Danish definite marking can also appear as a noun ending, as in versionen (“the version”); here the article is separate because it is followed by an adjective. opdaterede means “updated” here and describes version. It is the past participle/adjectival form related to opdatere, “to update.” In this definite noun phrase, the adjective takes the -e form: den opdaterede version. The form agrees with the definite noun phrase; it is not derived from version. version is a noun meaning “version.” It is a common-gender noun: en version means “a version,” and versionen means “the version.” In the fixed sentence, den opdaterede version is the specific item being sent. før introduces the time condition “before.” It connects the sending to a later event: før den bliver delt means “before it is shared.” A reusable pattern is før + clause, as in Jeg ringer, før jeg går. — “I’ll call before I leave.” bliver delt is a passive construction meaning “is shared.” bliver is the present form of blive, “become/be,” and delt is the participle of dele, “to share.” With blive, the construction presents the sharing as an event that happens to the thing, without naming who shares it. The subject of this subordinate clause is den; according to the fixed translation, it refers to the updated version. The second den is a singular common-gender pronoun/article form. In this clause it is the grammatical subject of bliver delt, and the fixed translation identifies its referent as the updated version. Its role is therefore “it,” not the recipient dig. større means “larger/wider” here and describes gruppe. It is the comparative form of stor, “large”: stor → større → størst (“largest”). The comparison is relative: the group is understood as wider than some relevant group or scope, without the sentence specifying the comparison explicitly. gruppe means “group.” It is a common-gender noun: en gruppe (“a group”) and gruppen (“the group”). Together, den større gruppe means “the wider/larger group”; the adjective’s comparative meaning belongs to større, not to the noun. Taken in order, Jeg sender dig den opdaterede version gives “I’ll send you the updated version.” The clause før den bliver delt med den større gruppe adds the time boundary: this sending happens before the version is shared with the wider group. The complete meaning is: “I’ll send you the updated version before it goes to the wider group.”