Explaining a Device Fault and Requesting a Replacement | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg købte denne enhed for nylig, men skærmen flimrer nogle gange.

   I bought this device recently, but the screen flickers sometimes.

   købte

   bought

   denne

   this

   enhed

   device

   for nylig

   recently

   men

   but

   skærmen

   the screen

   flimrer

   flickers

   nogle gange

   sometimes

   More detail

   købte means “bought” here. It is the past-tense form of købe (“to buy”): købe → købte. Danish past forms do not mark the subject’s person or number here, so the form itself does not mean specifically “I bought”; jeg supplies that subject. denne means “this” before the singular common-gender noun enhed. Danish uses denne with a singular common-gender noun, dette with a singular neuter noun, and disse with plural nouns. The demonstrative points to the device intended in the fixed translation. enhed means “device” here. It is a common-gender noun: en enhed (“a device”), enheden (“the device”). The form enhed is the indefinite singular form used after denne. for nylig is a reusable adverbial expression meaning “recently.” It places the buying event in the recent past without giving a precise time. For example, Jeg flyttede for nylig. means “I moved recently.” men connects two contrasting clauses and means “but.” It does not itself express the contrast; it signals the relationship between the preceding purchase statement and the following screen behavior. skærmen means “the screen.” It is the definite singular form of the common-gender noun skærm: en skærm (“a screen”) → skærmen (“the screen”). The definite ending -en is part of the observed form; it is not a separate word. flimrer means “flickers” here. It is the present-tense form of flimre (“to flicker”). Danish present-tense verb forms generally do not change for person, so flimrer can be used with different subjects; the singular subject skærmen makes the English translation “the screen flickers.” Example: Lyset flimrer. means “The light flickers.” nogle gange means “sometimes,” literally referring to some occasions or times. It is a common frequency expression. Example: Det regner nogle gange. means “It sometimes rains.” Together, Jeg købte denne enhed for nylig means “I bought this device recently”: jeg is the subject, købte places the purchase in the past, and denne enhed identifies the device. men skærmen flimrer nogle gange adds the contrasting fact that the screen sometimes flickers. The complete utterance therefore means: “I bought this device recently, but the screen flickers sometimes.”

2. Fejl, der kun opstår en gang imellem, kan være svære at fremkalde igen, så vi tester den her.

   Intermittent faults can be hard to reproduce, so we will test it here.

   Fejl

   faults

   opstår

   arise

   en gang imellem

   from time to time

   kan

   can

   svære

   difficult

   fremkalde

   bring about

   igen

   again

   så

   so

   vi

   we

   tester

   test

   den her

   this one here

   More detail

   Fejl means “faults” here. Its base form is fejl. In this sentence, the bare form is plural; the indefinite singular normally has the article en, as in en fejl (“a fault”). The noun itself has no visible plural ending in fejl, so the plural reading here is supported by the sentence’s grammar, including the plural adjective svære. In a different context, fejl can also occur as part of a mass-like or compound expression, but that does not change its plural meaning here. opstår means “arise” or “occur” here. It is the present-tense form of opstå, “to arise/occur.” The form is used with Fejl; Danish verbs do not change form for singular versus plural subjects. For example, Problemet opstår igen means “The problem occurs again.” en gang imellem is a fixed adverbial expression meaning “from time to time” or “intermittently.” It describes repeated but irregular occurrence. It is useful as a compact pattern: Det sker en gang imellem means “It happens from time to time.” kan is the present form of kunne, “can” or “be able to.” Here it expresses possibility: the faults may be difficult to reproduce. With an infinitive phrase, kan is followed by the verb without at, as in kan være (“can be”). svære means “difficult” in this sentence. It is the plural form of the adjective svær, agreeing with the plural subject Fejl. The phrase kan være svære therefore means “can be difficult,” with svære describing the faults rather than kan. fremkalde means “bring about” or, in this technical context, “reproduce.” It is the infinitive after at in svære at fremkalde: “difficult to reproduce.” Its base form is already fremkalde; the form does not show person or number here. The following igen makes clear that the intended action is to make the fault occur again, not merely to produce something in general. igen means “again.” It modifies fremkalde, specifying recurrence: fremkalde igen means “reproduce again.” For example, Vi prøver at starte systemet igen means “We try to start the system again.” Together, kan være svære at fremkalde igen is a reusable Danish pattern meaning “can be difficult to reproduce again.” The subject of svære is the faults introduced earlier, and the infinitive phrase explains what they are difficult to do. så means “so” here and introduces the result or next step that follows from the preceding statement. It links the difficulty of reproducing the faults with the testing action. vi means “we,” the first-person plural subject of the next clause. Danish uses vi for a group including the speaker; the sentence does not specify the group’s exact membership. tester means “test.” It is the present-tense form of teste. Danish present tense can also describe a planned or immediate future action, so the fixed translation “we will test” is compatible with this form. For example, Vi tester enheden i morgen can mean “We will test the device tomorrow.” den her means “this one here” or “this.” It is a demonstrative expression for one singular common-gender item selected for attention or testing. In this utterance, the fixed translation supports the meaning “it” in the testing clause, while the exact physical item is not grammatically identified by the expression itself. Den her is not a plural form; a plural item would require a different demonstrative form. The whole utterance can be assembled as: Fejl, der kun opstår en gang imellem (“Faults that occur only from time to time”) kan være svære at fremkalde igen (“can be difficult to reproduce again”), så vi tester den her (“so we will test it here”). Thus the complete meaning is: “Intermittent faults can be hard to reproduce, so we will test it here.”

3. Jeg optog en kort video af det, da det skete under normal brug.

   I recorded a short video of it happening during normal use.

   optog

   recorded

   kort

   short

   video

   video

   af det

   of it

   da det skete

   when it happened

   normal

   normal

   brug

   use

   More detail

   optog means “recorded” here. Its base form is optage; optog is the past-tense form. Danish past forms generally do not change for the subject’s person or number, so the first-person meaning comes from Jeg, not from a special first-person form of optog. Example: Hun optog en video. — “She recorded a video.” kort describes video as short in length or duration. Its base form is kort, and it can also be used as a comparative: kortere — “shorter.” Example: Filmen er kort. — “The film is short.” video is the noun “video.” The indefinite article en before it introduces a singular common-gender noun, but it does not by itself assert a numerical count as a teaching point. In this sentence, en kort video is “a short video.” af det means “of it.” af marks the relation to what the video shows or concerns, while det is a neuter singular form of the pronoun meaning “it.” The supplied translation identifies the intended referent only as “it”; it does not specify what that referent is. The pronoun’s grammatical form should therefore be learned separately from the identity of its referent. da det skete means “when it happened.” da introduces the time clause, and skete is the past-tense form of ske, “to happen” or “to occur.” Here det is the subject of skete, with the same neuter singular form as in af det; its specific referent is not named in the fixed sentence. Example: Jeg var der, da det skete. — “I was there when it happened.” normal means “normal” or “ordinary” here. It describes the kind of brug involved. Example: under normale forhold means “under normal conditions”; the form normale shows that an adjective can take a different form in another noun phrase. brug means “use” in this context, specifically use of the item or system under discussion. It is a noun, and the preposition under makes under normal brug mean “during normal use.” Example: Det virker under normal brug. — “It works during normal use.” Together, Jeg optog en kort video means “I recorded a short video.” af det specifies what the video was of, and da det skete identifies the event shown: the recording captured it when it happened. Finally, under normal brug states the circumstances. The complete meaning is: “I recorded a short video of it happening during normal use.”

4. Videoen vil være en hjælp, hvis fejlen ikke viser sig under testen.

   The video will help if the fault does not show up during the test.

   Videoen

   the video

   vil

   will

   være

   be

   en

   a

   hjælp

   help

   hvis

   if

   fejlen

   the fault

   ikke

   not

   viser sig

   shows up

   under

   during

   testen

   the test

   More detail

   Videoen means “the video” here. It is the definite singular form of video (a common-gender noun): en video = “a video”, videoen = “the video”. Danish commonly marks definiteness at the end of the noun rather than with a separate word. vil is the present form of ville. With an infinitive such as være, it expresses a future expectation here: “will be”. Ville can also express “would” in other contexts, so the surrounding construction determines the reading. være is the infinitive of “be”. After vil, Danish uses the infinitive without an English-style marker such as “to”: vil være = “will be”. en is the indefinite article used with the common-gender noun hjælp. In this sentence it introduces an unspecified kind or instance of help; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. hjælp is the noun “help”. It can also occur in the useful expression have brug for hjælp, “need help”. Example: Jeg har brug for hjælp. — “I need help.” hvis introduces a condition and means “if”. The clause after it gives the condition under which the main clause is expected to hold. fejlen means “the fault” here. It is the definite singular form of fejl: en fejl = “a fault” or “an error”, fejlen = “the fault”. The ending marks definiteness on the noun. ikke is the basic Danish negation word “not”. Here it negates the following verbal situation, so the condition is that the fault does not show up. viser sig is the reflexive construction “shows up” or “appears” here. viser is the present form of vise, “show”, and sig is the reflexive pronoun used with this verb construction. Together, vise sig describes something becoming apparent rather than someone simply showing an object. Example: Problemet viser sig senere. — “The problem appears later.” under means “during” in this time expression. It introduces the activity or period within which something happens: under testen = “during the test”. testen means “the test”. It is the definite singular form of test: en test = “a test”, testen = “the test”. The main clause is Videoen vil være en hjælp: “The video will be a help” or, naturally, “The video will help.” The conditional clause is hvis fejlen ikke viser sig under testen: “if the fault does not show up during the test.” Together, the utterance means: “The video will help if the fault does not show up during the test.”

5. Jeg vil helst have en ombytning i stedet for en reparation.

   I would prefer a replacement instead of a repair.

   Jeg

   I

   vil helst

   would prefer

   have

   have

   ombytning

   replacement

   i stedet for

   instead of

   reparation

   repair

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” here: it is the first-person singular subject, the person expressing the preference. Danish subject pronouns include jeg “I,” du “you,” and vi “we.” Example: Jeg har tid. — “I have time.” vil helst expresses a preference: “would prefer” or “would rather.” Vil is the present form of ville; with an infinitive it can express wanting or a preference, while helst strengthens the preference to “preferably” or “rather.” Example: Jeg vil helst vente. — “I would rather wait.” have is the infinitive “have.” It follows vil, so the combination vil have means “want to have” or, in this sentence, “would prefer to have.” Example: Hun vil have en ny tid. — “She wants a new appointment.” ombytning is the noun “replacement” or “exchange,” referring here to the replacement requested rather than to a repair. It is related to the verb ombytte “to exchange/replace,” but ombytning itself is the noun used in the sentence. Example: Kunden ønsker en ombytning. — “The customer wants a replacement.” i stedet for is the reusable prepositional construction “instead of.” It introduces the option that is not preferred in the comparison. Example: Vi vælger te i stedet for kaffe. — “We choose tea instead of coffee.” reparation is the noun “repair.” Danish nouns can be introduced with an indefinite article, as in en reparation; the article marks the noun’s grammatical form and does not by itself assert a numerical count. Example: En reparation tager tid. — “A repair takes time.” Together, Jeg vil helst have en ombytning means “I would prefer to have a replacement.” The construction i stedet for en reparation then contrasts that preferred option with “a repair.” The complete utterance is therefore: “I would prefer a replacement instead of a repair.”

6. Vi kan notere, at det er det, du foretrækker, men undersøgelsen afgør, hvad næste skridt bliver.

   We can record that preference, but the inspection decides the next step.

   Vi kan

   we can

   notere

   record; note

   foretrækker

   prefer

   undersøgelsen

   the inspection

   afgør

   decides

   næste

   next

   skridt

   step

   bliver

   will be

   More detail

   Vi kan combines vi (“we”) with kan, the present form of kunne (“can; be able to”). After kan, Danish uses the infinitive without at, so kan notere means “can record.” Unlike the past form kunne, kan is the present form; in this sentence it expresses present ability or possibility. notere is the infinitive “to record” or “to note.” Its present form is noterer, as in Vi noterer ønsket (“We record the request”). Here it follows the modal kan, which is why the infinitive is used. foretrækker is the present-tense form of foretrække, “to prefer.” In du foretrækker, du is the second-person singular subject. A useful contrast is jeg foretrækker (“I prefer”) and du foretrækker (“you prefer”): the verb form is the same for these subjects. undersøgelsen means “the inspection.” The base noun is undersøgelse, “inspection” or “investigation,” and -en marks its singular definite form: en undersøgelse (“an inspection”) → undersøgelsen (“the inspection”). The noun, not afgør, carries this definiteness marking. afgør is the present-tense form of afgøre, “to decide” or “determine.” In this sentence, undersøgelsen afgør means “the inspection decides/determines.” Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change for person or number. næste means “next.” In næste skridt, it describes what comes after the current step. Danish uses the same form næste with singular and plural nouns, for example det næste skridt (“the next step”) and de næste skridt (“the next steps”). skridt means “step.” The noun is et skridt in the indefinite singular; its plural can also be skridt, while the definite forms are skridtet (“the step”) and skridtene (“the steps”). Here næste skridt means “the next step” in the supplied translation. bliver is the present-tense form of blive, whose core meaning is “become.” In hvad næste skridt bliver, the context gives it the resultative meaning “what the next step will be.” Danish can use the present tense for a future result when the context makes that reference clear. The verb comes at the end of this subordinate clause. The opening Vi kan notere means “We can record.” The conjunction at introduces the recorded content: det er det, du foretrækker, meaning “it is what you prefer” in this structure. The translation identifies that content as the preference. The conjunction men contrasts this record with the later decision: undersøgelsen afgør says that the inspection determines the result. The embedded question hvad næste skridt bliver supplies the result being determined. Together, the utterance means: “We can record that preference, but the inspection decides the next step.”

7. Bemærk venligst, at problemet begyndte lige efter opsætningen.

   Please note that the problem started right after setup.

   Bemærk

   note; take note

   venligst

   please

   problemet

   the problem

   begyndte

   started; began

   lige efter

   right after

   opsætningen

   the setup

   More detail

   Bemærk is the imperative of bemærke, “to note” or “to notice.” It addresses the reader or listener directly. For example: Bemærk forskellen. — “Notice the difference.” venligst means “please” and softens the request. Together, Bemærk venligst is a polite request to take note of something; venligst does not itself express a separate action. problemet is the definite singular form of et problem: “the problem.” Danish marks definiteness here in the noun ending: et problem — “a problem”; problemet — “the problem.” The neuter article et belongs to the noun’s grammatical gender; it is not a numeric statement. begyndte is the past-tense form of begynde, “to begin” or “to start.” It says that the beginning occurred in the past. For example: Mødet begyndte klokken ni. — “The meeting started at nine.” lige efter means “right after” or “immediately after.” efter introduces the later point or event, while lige strengthens the closeness in time. For example: Vi gik lige efter mødet. — “We left right after the meeting.” opsætningen is the definite singular form of en opsætning, meaning “a setup” or, depending on the subject, “an installation/configuration.” Thus opsætningen means “the setup.” For example: Opsætningen tog en time. — “The setup took an hour.” The structure is Bemærk venligst, at ...: “Please note that ...” The clause after at supplies what should be noted. Inside that clause, problemet begyndte means “the problem started,” and lige efter opsætningen places that start immediately after the setup. The whole utterance therefore means: “Please note that the problem started right after setup.”

8. Jeg tilføjer det til servicejournalen.

   I will add that to the service record.

   Jeg

   I

   tilføjer

   add

   det

   that

   servicejournalen

   the service record

   More detail

   Jeg means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It identifies the speaker as the actor. A useful contrast is jeg “I” versus du “you” when addressing one person. tilføjer means “add” here. Its base form is tilføje; tilføjer is the present-tense form. Danish present tense can describe an action that is intended or scheduled to happen, so the fixed translation’s “will add” fits this context; the form itself is not a separate future tense. Example: Jeg tilføjer en kommentar. — “I add / will add a comment.” det is the object pronoun “that” in this sentence. It is the direct object of tilføjer. The form det is used for a singular neuter referent and does not by itself specify a more precise referent than the “that” identified by the fixed translation; the surrounding context supplies that interpretation. servicejournalen means “the service record.” It is a compound noun built from servicejournal “service record” and the definite ending -en, giving the definite form “the service record.” The ending belongs to the noun, not to tilføjer. Example: Jeg skriver i journalen. — “I write in the record.” Together, Jeg tilføjer det gives “I will add that,” and tilføjer det til servicejournalen specifies the destination: the speaker will add that matter to the service record. The complete utterance is therefore “I will add that to the service record.”