Narrowing an academic argument | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Mit essay bygger på forskning, men hovedargumentet virker uklart.

   My essay draws on research, but the central argument feels unclear.

   Mit

   my

   essay

   essay

   bygger på

   draws on

   forskning

   research

   hovedargumentet

   the central argument

   virker

   seems; feels

   uklart

   unclear

   More detail

   Mit means “my” here. Danish possessive forms agree with the thing possessed, not with the owner: min is used with common-gender singular nouns, mit with neuter singular nouns, and mine with plural nouns. Mit essay therefore shows that essay is neuter: et essay, “an essay.” essay is the noun “essay.” Danish commonly uses the indefinite form et essay for “an essay” and the definite form essayet for “the essay.” bygger på is a reusable construction meaning “draws on” or “is based on.” The observed form bygger is the present tense of bygge, “to build”; with på, the construction is used for relying on a source or foundation, not only for physical building. Example: Artiklen bygger på nye data. — “The article draws on new data.” forskning means “research.” It is commonly used as a mass or general noun, so it can refer to research in general without a plural ending. Example: Hun læser forskning om sprog. — “She reads research about language.” hovedargumentet means “the central/main argument.” It is built from hovedargument (“main argument”) plus the definite ending -et, giving “the main argument.” The noun argument is neuter (et argument), and the compound is also neuter: et hovedargument, hovedargumentet. virker is the present tense of virke, “to seem” or “to appear.” In this sentence it presents an assessment of how the argument appears, rather than asserting that it literally performs an action. Example: Planen virker enkel. — “The plan seems simple.” uklart means “unclear” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective uklar, “unclear,” agreeing with the neuter noun argumentet: et uklart argument, but en uklar forklaring. The form uklart is not the noun’s base form; uklar is the adjective’s base form. Together, Mit essay bygger på forskning says “My essay draws on research.” men introduces a contrast, and hovedargumentet virker uklart says “the central argument seems unclear.” The complete meaning is therefore: “My essay draws on research, but the central argument feels unclear.”

2. Belæggene er relevante, men påstanden skal afgrænses skarpere.

   The evidence is relevant, yet the claim needs sharper boundaries.

   Belæggene

   the evidence

   relevante

   relevant

   påstanden

   the claim

   skal

   needs to

   afgrænses

   be delimited

   skarpere

   more sharply

   More detail

   Belæggene means “the evidence” here. It is the definite plural form of belæg, a word for support, evidence, or grounds for a claim. The ending -ene marks definite plural in this form: belæg can mean “evidence/support,” while belæggene means “the pieces of evidence” or “the evidence” already identified in context. relevante means “relevant.” It is the form used with a plural definite noun such as Belæggene; the adjective agrees with that noun. The singular indefinite form is relevant, as in the example Et argument er relevant — “An argument is relevant.” Together, Belæggene er relevante says that the evidence is relevant. er is the present form of være, “to be.” Danish adjectives after er describe the subject, and relevante matches the plural form of Belæggene. påstanden means “the claim.” It is the definite singular form of påstand, “claim” or “assertion.” The ending -en marks definite singular here: en påstand is “a claim,” while påstanden is “the claim.” skal expresses that something is required, intended, or expected to happen. With an infinitive or passive infinitive, it commonly gives a meaning such as “must,” “is to,” or, in this context, “needs to.” The construction skal + afgrænses places the requirement on the claim. afgrænses means “be delimited” or “be narrowed in scope.” It is the passive form related to afgrænse, “to delimit” or “to define the boundaries of.” In påstanden skal afgrænses, the claim is the thing whose boundaries are to be defined; the sentence does not state who will do this. skarpere means “more sharply.” It is the comparative form of skarp, “sharp.” Here it modifies how the claim is delimited, rather than describing the claim as physically sharp. The comparison implies a sharper or more precise delimitation than the current one. For example, Argumentet skal formuleres skarpere means “The argument needs to be formulated more sharply.” The conjunction men means “but,” linking the two parts in contrast: the evidence is relevant, but the claim still needs more precise boundaries. In the second part, påstanden is the subject, skal marks the requirement, afgrænses supplies the passive action, and skarpere describes the improved manner of that action. The complete meaning is: “The evidence is relevant, yet the claim needs sharper boundaries.”

3. Jeg tror, jeg prøver at besvare for mange spørgsmål.

   I think I am trying to answer too many questions.

   Jeg

   I

   tror

   think

   prøver

   try

   at besvare

   to answer

   for mange

   too many

   spørgsmål

   questions

   More detail

   Jeg is the Danish first-person singular subject pronoun, meaning “I.” It identifies the speaker as the subject of the sentence. A useful contrast is jeg “I” versus du “you” when the addressee is the subject. tror means “think” here, in the sense of holding an opinion or belief. Its base form is tro; tror is the present-tense form. Danish present forms generally do not change for person, so the same present form can occur with different subjects: Jeg tror = “I think,” while Hun tror = “She thinks.” prøver means “try” here. Its base form is prøve, and prøver is the present-tense form. The pattern prøve at is used for “try to” followed by an infinitive. For example, Jeg prøver at lære dansk. means “I am trying to learn Danish.” at besvare is the infinitive “to answer.” at marks the infinitive, while besvare is the lexical verb; do not treat at as part of the verb’s base form. besvare is commonly used for answering a question, inquiry, or similar item. The construction prøver at besvare therefore means “try to answer.” for mange means “too many.” mange is used with plural countable nouns, and for makes the amount excessive relative to what is suitable. Compare for meget “too much,” used with a mass or uncountable quantity. Here, for mange modifies the plural noun spørgsmål. spørgsmål means “questions.” It is the plural form of spørgsmål, whose singular and plural forms are identical in the indefinite form; the definite forms are spørgsmålet “the question” and spørgsmålene “the questions.” For example, Jeg har to spørgsmål. means “I have two questions.” Together, Jeg tror gives “I think,” and jeg prøver at besvare gives “I am trying to answer.” The final chunk, for mange spørgsmål, specifies an excessive number of questions. Thus the whole utterance means: “I think I am trying to answer too many questions.”

4. Det sker ofte, når emnet er interessant, men bredt.

   That often happens when the topic is interesting but broad.

   Det

   That

   sker

   happens

   ofte

   often

   når

   when

   emnet

   the topic

   er

   is

   interessant

   interesting

   men

   but

   bredt

   broad

   More detail

   Det means “that” here and functions as the subject. In this sentence it refers to the situation indicated by the fixed context. Danish det can also have other grammatical roles, so its form alone does not identify a concrete referent. sker is the present-tense form of ske, “to happen.” The pattern det sker is a reusable way to say “that happens” or “it happens.” Example: Det sker nogle gange. — “That happens sometimes.” ofte means “often” and indicates repeated frequency. Example: Det sker ofte. — “It happens often.” når introduces the relevant time or condition, “when.” It can introduce a reusable subordinate clause. Example: Jeg læser, når jeg har tid. — “I read when I have time.” emnet means “the topic.” The noun is emne, a neuter noun: et emne means “a topic,” while emnet is its definite singular form, “the topic.” Here the suffix -et marks definiteness; the separate word et in et emne is the indefinite article and also signals the noun’s neuter gender. er is the present-tense form of være, “to be.” It links emnet to the descriptions that follow. Example: Emnet er vigtigt. — “The topic is important.” interessant means “interesting.” Here it is the adjective after er, describing emnet. In Danish, this adjective has the same singular form with common- and neuter-gender nouns; its final -t is not a neuter ending in this word. The plural and definite form is interessante. Example: Et emne er interessant. — “A topic is interesting.” men means “but” and connects contrasting or qualifying descriptions. Example: Filmen er lang, men interessant. — “The film is long but interesting.” bredt means “broad” here. It is the neuter singular form of the adjective bred, used with the neuter noun emnet. The useful comparison chain is bred — “broad,” bredere — “broader,” bredest — “broadest.” Example: Spørgsmålet er bredt. — “The question is broad.” Together, Det sker ofte gives “That often happens.” The subordinate clause når emnet er interessant, men bredt specifies the situation: “when the topic is interesting but broad.” The complete utterance therefore means: “That often happens when the topic is interesting but broad.”

5. Hvordan kan jeg afgrænse det uden at gøre det for simpelt?

   How can I narrow it without making it simplistic?

   Hvordan kan jeg

   How can I

   afgrænse

   narrow; delimit

   det

   it

   uden at

   without

   gøre

   make; do

   det

   it

   simpelt

   simple; simplistic

   More detail

   Hvordan kan jeg opens a question about a possible method. Hvordan means “how” and asks about manner or method. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can/be able to”; with jeg (“I”), it expresses what the speaker is able to do or can do. Danish places the subject jeg after the modal in this question pattern: Hvordan kan jeg ...? Compare the reusable statement pattern Jeg kan ... (“I can ...”). afgrænse means “narrow” or “delimit” in this context: make the scope of something more limited. It is an infinitive after kan; the modal carries the finite tense, so the following verb stays in the infinitive. A useful pattern is afgrænse et emne (“narrow a topic”). The first det is a neuter singular pronoun functioning as the object of afgrænse: “it.” The sentence and translation do not identify a more specific referent, although the surrounding context concerns a broad topic. Danish det can also be a neuter singular form in other grammatical roles, so its form alone does not specify exactly what “it” refers to. uden at introduces an action that is avoided or excluded: “without doing ...”. After uden at, Danish uses an infinitive, here gøre. This is a reusable pattern: uden at + infinitive, for example, Han gik uden at sige noget — “He left without saying anything.” gøre is the infinitive of “make/do.” Here it means “make,” because it takes an object and an adjective describing the resulting state: gøre noget simpelt means “make something simple.” The construction gøre + object + adjective is useful for expressing a change of state, as in gøre teksten kortere — “make the text shorter.” The second det is another neuter singular pronoun and is the object of gøre; it refers to the thing being made simple. It is separate from the first occurrence, even though both are translated as “it.” simpelt means “simple” here, with the intended criticism that the result would be too simplistic. The adjective is the form of simpel used with a neuter singular noun or pronoun: simpel (common gender), simpelt (neuter singular), simple (plural or definite forms). The word for before it means “too,” so for simpelt means “too simple,” not merely “simple.” Together, Hvordan kan jeg afgrænse det asks how the speaker can limit the scope of the unspecified “it.” uden at gøre det for simpelt adds the constraint that this should happen without making that subject matter too simplistic. The complete meaning is therefore: “How can I narrow it without making it simplistic?”

6. Vælg én spænding, der går igen på tværs af flere kilder.

   Choose one tension that appears across several sources.

   Vælg

   choose

   én

   one

   spænding

   tension

   der går igen

   that appears repeatedly

   på tværs af

   across

   flere

   several

   kilder

   sources

   More detail

   Vælg is the imperative of vælge, “to choose.” It gives a direct instruction. The imperative is used here without an expressed subject; the intended addressee is the person being advised. Example: Vælg et eksempel. — “Choose an example.” én means “one” and highlights a single choice. It is the numeral, not the indefinite article en. The accent can help distinguish this emphasized numeral in writing. Example: Vælg én mulighed. — “Choose one option.” spænding means “tension” here: a relationship or contrast that can be traced through the material. Its plural is spændinger. Example: Teksten rummer en spænding. — “The text contains a tension.” der går igen is a relative construction meaning “that recurs” or “that appears repeatedly.” går is the present form of gå, “to go”; with igen, the expression means that something reappears or is found repeatedly. der introduces the relative clause referring to the tension. Example: Det er et tema, der går igen. — “It is a theme that recurs.” på tværs af is a reusable prepositional construction meaning “across” or “through several parts of.” It frames the range over which the recurring tension is observed. Example: Mønstret går igen på tværs af kapitlerne. — “The pattern recurs across the chapters.” flere means “several” or “more than one” with a plural countable noun. It does not specify an exact number. Example: flere eksempler — “several examples.” kilder means “sources.” It is the plural of kilde, “source.” The plural form is used because flere refers to more than one source. Example: Jeg sammenligner flere kilder. — “I compare several sources.” Together, Vælg én spænding means “Choose one tension.” The relative clause der går igen på tværs af flere kilder identifies the tension as one that recurs across several sources. The complete utterance is therefore: “Choose one tension that appears across several sources.”

7. Så kan jeg sammenligne perspektiver uden at miste hovedpointen.

   Then I can compare perspectives without losing the main point.

   kan jeg

   I can

   sammenligne

   compare

   perspektiver

   perspectives

   uden at

   without …-ing

   miste

   lose

   hovedpointen

   the main point

   More detail

   kan jeg combines the modal verb kan with the subject pronoun jeg. Here it means that the speaker has the ability or opportunity to do something. kan is the present form of kunne; the infinitive normally follows it without at: Jeg kan læse means “I can read.” The subject is explicitly jeg, “I.” sammenligne is the infinitive “to compare.” After kan, Danish uses this bare infinitive, so kan jeg sammenligne means “I can compare,” not “I can to compare.” Example: Vi kan sammenligne to tekster. — “We can compare two texts.” perspektiver is the plural of perspektiv, “perspective.” The form has no plural ending here beyond the form shown: et perspektiv → perspektiver. In this sentence it is the object being compared. Example: Artiklen viser forskellige perspektiver. — “The article shows different perspectives.” uden at introduces an action that is not performed: “without doing …”. It is followed by an infinitive with at, unlike the bare infinitive after kan. The pattern is uden at + infinitive: uden at ændre teksten means “without changing the text.” miste is the infinitive “to lose.” Here it describes the action that does not happen: the speaker compares perspectives without losing something. Its present-tense form is mister: Jeg mister overblikket means “I lose track of the overview.” hovedpointen means “the main point.” It is a definite singular compound: hoved- means “main” in this compound, and pointen is the definite form of point, “point.” The definite form presents the point as identifiable in the context, rather than as an unspecified point. Example: Hun gentager hovedpointen. — “She repeats the main point.” Together, kan jeg sammenligne perspektiver says “I can compare perspectives.” The construction uden at miste hovedpointen adds the condition “without losing the main point.” The complete utterance therefore means: “Then I can compare perspectives without losing the main point.”

8. Det fokus vil få hvert afsnit til at understøtte den samme påstand.

   That focus will make each paragraph support the same claim.

   Det

   that

   fokus

   focus

   vil

   will

   få

   make; cause

   hvert

   each; every

   afsnit

   paragraph

   understøtte

   support

   samme

   same

   påstand

   claim

   More detail

   Det is the neuter singular demonstrative meaning “that” here. It agrees with fokus, which is used as a neuter noun in this phrase; Danish demonstratives therefore help identify the noun’s grammatical gender and number. fokus is a noun meaning “focus.” A useful basic pattern is et fokus for “a focus” and fokusset for “the focus”; the exact form of the plural can vary by the noun’s standard inflection, so it should be learned with a reliable dictionary when needed. vil is the modal verb ville, used here to express a future result: “will.” It is followed by the infinitive få, not by an English-style inflected future form. For example, Det vil hjælpe means “That will help.” få means “make” or “cause” in this construction. The reusable pattern is få + someone/something + til at + infinitive, meaning “make or cause someone/something to do something.” Here, hvert afsnit is the thing caused to act, and understøtte is the resulting action. For example, Det får hende til at smile means “It makes her smile.” hvert is the neuter singular form of hver, meaning “each” or “every.” It is chosen because it modifies afsnit, a neuter singular noun: hvert afsnit means “each paragraph.” The corresponding common-gender form is hver, as in hver side (“each page”). afsnit is a neuter noun meaning “paragraph” here. Its form is singular; hvert makes the one-by-one reading explicit. Et afsnit means “a paragraph.” understøtte is the infinitive of the verb meaning “support.” After the causative pattern få ... til at, the verb appears with at in the infinitive phrase. For example, Eksemplet understøtter pointen means “The example supports the point,” while Det får eksemplet til at understøtte pointen means “It makes the example support the point.” samme means “same.” Danish uses samme with both singular common-gender and neuter nouns and with plural nouns; the noun and its other modifiers carry the relevant agreement. Here it modifies påstand in the phrase den samme påstand, “the same claim.” påstand is a common-gender noun meaning “claim” or “assertion.” The form den ... påstand is a definite noun phrase, with den marking the common-gender singular noun. For example, Jeg gentager den samme påstand means “I repeat the same claim.” Together, Det fokus means “that focus,” and vil få hvert afsnit til at understøtte says that it will cause each paragraph to support something. The object of understøtte is den samme påstand, so the complete meaning is: “That focus will make each paragraph support the same claim.”