Responsible paraphrasing and citation | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg er bekymret for, at mine parafraser ligger for tæt på kilderne.

   I worry that my paraphrases stay too close to the sources.

   Jeg

   I

   er bekymret

   am worried

   mine

   my

   parafraser

   paraphrases

   at

   that

   ligger

   stay

   for tæt på

   too close to

   kilderne

   the sources

   More detail

   Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun, meaning “I.” It identifies the speaker as the person with the concern. A useful contrast is du “you” for one addressee. er bekymret combines er, the present form of være “to be,” with bekymret, an adjective meaning “worried” or “concerned.” The adjective describes the speaker’s state here; it is not a past-tense verb. For example, Jeg er træt means “I am tired.” mine is the possessive form meaning “my” before a plural noun. Here it agrees in number with the plural noun parafraser, not with the speaker. Danish possessives also include min before an en-word singular noun and mit before an et-word singular noun; mine is the plural form. parafraser is the plural of parafrase, “paraphrase.” Its plural ending is -r: en parafrase → parafraser. In this sentence, the paraphrases belong to the speaker through mine. at introduces the content of the worry, roughly “that.” It links the main statement to a following clause: Jeg tror, at ... means “I think that ...” The at here is a clause linker, not the English infinitive marker. ligger is the present form of ligge, “to lie” or, in this context, “to remain/be situated.” With for tæt på, it describes the paraphrases as remaining too near the sources. The present form places this assessment in the current situation. For example, Bogen ligger på bordet means “The book is on the table.” for tæt på is a reusable pattern meaning “too close to.” tæt means “close” or “closely,” while for before an adjective marks an excessive degree: for dyr means “too expensive.” på completes the relation to the thing that is close to. The phrase is used here for conceptual closeness, not physical distance. kilderne means “the sources.” It is the definite plural form of kilde, “source”: kilder means “sources,” and kilderne means “the sources.” Danish commonly marks definiteness with an ending, so the definite marker is attached to the noun rather than expressed by a separate word in this form. Together, Jeg er bekymret for expresses “I am worried about,” and at mine parafraser ligger for tæt på kilderne gives the content of that worry: “that my paraphrases stay too close to the sources.” The complete utterance therefore means, “I worry that my paraphrases stay too close to the sources.”

2. En nyttig test er, om sætningsstrukturen er blevet ændret.

   A useful test is whether the sentence structure has changed.

   nyttig

   useful

   test

   test

   om

   whether

   sætningsstrukturen

   the sentence structure

   er blevet ændret

   has been changed

   More detail

   nyttig means “useful” here. Its base form is nyttig. Danish adjectives can change for definiteness, number, and grammatical gender; this form is the common-gender singular form used with en test. Example: en nyttig bog — “a useful book.” test is the noun “test.” The indefinite article en introduces a nonspecific test here; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. Its definite form is testen — “the test.” om introduces an embedded yes-or-no question. Here om sætningsstrukturen ... means “whether the sentence structure ...”. It contrasts with hvis, which normally introduces a condition: Hvis strukturen ændres ... — “If the structure is changed ...”. sætningsstrukturen means “the sentence structure.” The indefinite form is sætningsstruktur, and the definite form adds -en to the compound’s final element: sætningsstrukturen. The first element indicates the type of structure; it is not a separate noun phrase meaning “the sentence.” Example: Sætningsstrukturen er enkel. — “The sentence structure is simple.” er blevet ændret expresses a completed change in the passive: “has been changed.” In this construction, er is the present form of være (“be”), blevet is the past participle of blive (“become”), and ændret is the past participle of ændre (“change”). The pattern er blevet + past participle presents a change as completed while focusing on what happened to the subject. Example: Planen er blevet ændret. — “The plan has been changed.” Together, En nyttig test er sets up a useful test. The first er is the present form of være and links that subject to the embedded question introduced by om; the later er belongs to the passive construction er blevet ændret. Thus om sætningsstrukturen er blevet ændret identifies the test as the question of whether the sentence structure has changed. The complete utterance means: “A useful test is whether the sentence structure has changed.”

3. Nogle gange ændrer jeg ordforrådet, men beholder den oprindelige logik.

   Sometimes I change vocabulary but keep the original logic.

   Nogle gange

   sometimes

   ændrer

   change

   ordforrådet

   vocabulary

   beholder

   keep

   oprindelige

   original

   logik

   logic

   More detail

   Nogle gange means “sometimes.” It is a time-frequency adverbial and can be placed in different positions depending on emphasis. Example: Jeg læser nogle gange om aftenen. — “I sometimes read in the evening.” ændrer is the present-tense form of ændre, “to change” or “to alter.” The subject here is jeg, “I.” In Danish, the present form is used for a current habit as well as for an action happening now, so jeg ændrer can mean “I change” in this general statement. Example: Jeg ændrer planen. — “I change the plan.” ordforrådet means “the vocabulary.” Its base form is ordforråd; the ending -et marks the definite singular form of this neuter noun: et ordforråd → ordforrådet. The definite form presents the vocabulary as an identifiable whole in this context. beholder is the present-tense form of beholde, “to keep” or “to retain.” It is coordinated with ændrer after men (“but”), and the subject jeg is understood again: jeg ændrer ..., men [jeg] beholder .... Example: Hun beholder billetten. — “She keeps the ticket.” oprindelige means “original” here. Its base form is oprindelig. The adjective has the definite attributive form oprindelige because it modifies the definite noun phrase den oprindelige logik; the -e ending is not an inflection of logik. After the common-gender demonstrative/article den and a definite noun, Danish attributive adjectives normally use this definite form. Example: den oprindelige plan — “the original plan.” logik means “logic.” Its base form is also logik; it is a common-gender noun, as shown by en logik in the indefinite singular. In den oprindelige logik, it is definite and therefore appears without an indefinite article, with den and the adjective marking the noun phrase as definite. Together, Nogle gange ændrer jeg ordforrådet means “Sometimes I change the vocabulary.” men beholder den oprindelige logik adds the contrast “but keep the original logic,” with the same subject understood in the second coordinated clause. The complete utterance therefore means: “Sometimes I change vocabulary but keep the original logic.”

4. Så kan parafrasen stadig være alt for afhængig af kilden.

   Then the paraphrase may still depend too heavily on the source.

   Så

   Then

   kan

   may

   parafrasen

   the paraphrase

   stadig

   still

   være

   be

   alt for

   too

   afhængig af

   dependent on

   kilden

   the source

   More detail

   Så means “then” here, marking the consequence or next point in the reasoning. Danish så can have other uses, but this sentence uses the temporal or discourse-linking sense shown by the translation. kan is the present-tense form of kunne, used here as a modal meaning “may” or “can.” It is followed by the infinitive være: kan være = “may be.” Example: Det kan være svært. — “It may be difficult.” parafrasen means “the paraphrase.” The noun is parafrase; the ending -en marks the definite singular form, “the paraphrase.” Example: En parafrase kan være kort. — “A paraphrase can be short.” stadig means “still.” It shows that the situation continues to hold: the paraphrase may still have the property described next. Its meaning is separate from kan; kan stadig være combines possibility with continuation. være is the infinitive of at være, “to be.” After the modal kan, Danish uses this infinitive without at. Example: Hun kan være klar. — “She may be ready.” alt for means “too,” in the sense of exceeding a suitable degree. It intensifies the adjective that follows: alt for afhængig means “too dependent,” not simply “dependent.” Example: Det er alt for dyrt. — “It is too expensive.” afhængig af means “dependent on.” afhængig is an adjective, and its base form is also afhængig; the preposition af introduces what the dependence is on. A useful comparison is mere afhængig — “more dependent.” Example: Resultatet er afhængigt af tiden. — “The result depends on the time.” Here, afhængig agrees with the singular common-gender noun parafrasen; in the example, afhængigt agrees with the neuter noun resultatet. kilden means “the source.” The noun is kilde, and -en marks its definite singular form, “the source.” In afhængig af kilden, it is the source on which the paraphrase depends. Together, parafrasen is the subject, and kan ... være says that it may have a certain property. stadig adds that this remains possible, while alt for afhængig af kilden describes excessive dependence on the source. The whole utterance therefore means: “Then the paraphrase may still depend too heavily on the source.”

5. Jeg burde nok lukke artiklen, før jeg begynder at skrive et udkast.

   I should probably close the article before drafting.

   Jeg burde

   I should

   nok

   probably

   lukke

   close

   artiklen

   the article

   før

   before

   jeg begynder

   I begin

   at skrive

   to write

   et udkast

   a draft

   More detail

   Jeg burde means “I should” here. burde is the modal verb burde, used for advice, expectation, or what would be sensible; it is not the ordinary present-tense form of another verb. A reusable pattern is Jeg burde + infinitive: Example: Jeg burde læse videre. — “I should read on.” nok adds the speaker’s cautious probability: “probably.” Together, Jeg burde nok means “I should probably,” rather than simply making a definite statement. lukke is the infinitive of lukke, “to close.” After the modal burde, the following verb appears as an infinitive without at: burde lukke. Example: Vi burde lukke døren. — “We should close the door.” artiklen means “the article.” Its base form is artikel; the ending -en marks the definite singular form for this noun: en artikel — “an article,” artiklen — “the article.” The form refers here to the article that the speaker intends to close, without adding any new information about its identity. før introduces a time relation and means “before.” It can connect the main clause to a subordinate clause: Jeg går, før det bliver mørkt. — “I leave before it gets dark.” jeg begynder means “I begin” or “I start.” begynder is the present-tense form of begynde; Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change according to the subject, so the same present form can occur with other subjects as well. Example: Hun begynder nu. — “She starts now.” at skrive means “to write.” skrive is the infinitive of skrive, and at is the infinitive marker used here after begynder: begynder at skrive — “begins to write.” Example: Han begynder at skrive. — “He begins to write.” et udkast means “a draft.” udkast is a neuter noun, so its indefinite singular form takes et: et udkast. Here et marks an indefinite singular noun; it does not by itself assert a numerical count. The definite form is udkastet, “the draft.” The full structure is Jeg burde nok lukke artiklen (“I should probably close the article”) followed by før jeg begynder at skrive et udkast (“before I start writing a draft”). Together, the utterance means: “I should probably close the article before drafting.” The choice of burde nok makes this a tentative recommendation or judgment, while før places the drafting after the closing in the intended sequence.

6. Det kan tvinge dig til at rekonstruere idéen med dine egne ord.

   That can force you to reconstruct the idea in your own terms.

   Det kan

   That can

   tvinge

   force

   dig

   you

   til at

   to (before an infinitive)

   rekonstruere

   reconstruct

   idéen

   the idea

   dine

   your (plural possessive)

   egne

   own

   ord

   words

   More detail

   Det kan means “That can” here. Det is the Danish pronoun used for the stated “that”; kan is the present-tense form of kunne, “can/be able to.” A reusable pattern is [subject] kan + infinitive: Det kan hjælpe. — “That can help.” tvinge means “force.” It is the infinitive after the modal kan. A useful pattern is tvinge nogen til at + infinitive, meaning “force someone to do something.” dig means “you” as the object of tvinge. The corresponding subject form is du: Du tvinger mig. — “You force me.” til at introduces the infinitive action required after tvinge: til at rekonstruere means “to reconstruct.” Here til at is a construction, not a claim about physical direction. rekonstruere is the infinitive “reconstruct.” It is unchanged after til at; the same form can also follow a modal such as kan, though in this sentence kan directly governs tvinge. idéen means “the idea.” It is the definite singular form of idé; the indefinite singular is en idé, and the plural is idéer. The ending -en marks common-gender definite singular here. dine means “your” before a plural noun. Danish possessives distinguish din with a common-gender singular noun, dit with a neuter singular noun, and dine with a plural noun; the form reflects ord, not the number of the possessor. egne means “own” in the plural form of egen. It agrees with the plural noun ord and emphasizes that the words are the listener’s own: mine egne ord — “my own words.” ord means “words” here. Its singular and plural forms are both ord; the plural reading is clear from dine egne. med dine egne ord is a reusable expression meaning “in your own words.” Together, Det kan tvinge dig til at rekonstruere idéen med dine egne ord means “That can force you to reconstruct the idea in your own terms.” The structure is Det kan + tvinge dig til at rekonstruere + idéen + med dine egne ord: a subject and modal, followed by the person affected, the required action, its object, and the way the action is carried out.

7. Jeg burde også henvise til kilder for påstande, selv når ordlyden er anderledes.

   I should also cite claims even when the wording differs.

   Jeg burde

   I should

   også

   also

   henvise

   cite

   kilder

   sources

   påstande

   claims

   selv når

   even when

   ordlyden

   the wording

   anderledes

   different

   More detail

   Jeg burde means “I should” here. burde is the modal form corresponding to bør (“should/ought to”); it is followed by the infinitive henvise. This expresses a recommendation or obligation viewed from the speaker’s perspective, not a simple present-tense statement. Example: Du burde læse teksten. — “You should read the text.” også means “also” and adds this action to something else that is relevant in the surrounding context. Its position after the modal subject phrase gives the sentence the sense “I, too/also, should …” without changing the basic obligation expressed by burde. henvise means “to cite” or “to refer to.” In this sentence it is the infinitive required after burde. Danish commonly uses the construction henvise til + noun for referring to or citing a source: Hun henviser til rapporten. — “She cites the report.” The preposition til belongs with this construction, while kilder names what is being referred to. kilder is the plural indefinite form of en kilde, “a source.” The definite singular is kilden (“the source”), and the definite plural is kilderne (“the sources”). Here the plural presents sources generally, rather than identifying one particular source. påstande is the plural indefinite form of en påstand, “a claim.” Its definite plural is påstandene, “the claims.” In kilder for påstande, the phrase connects sources with the claims they support or document. Example: Artiklen indeholder flere påstande. — “The article contains several claims.” selv når introduces a condition that remains true despite a circumstance: “even when.” It begins the subordinate clause selv når ordlyden er anderledes. The conjunction når means “when,” and selv strengthens it to “even when.” Example: Jeg hjælper dig, selv når opgaven er svær. — “I help you even when the task is difficult.” ordlyden means “the wording.” It is the definite singular form of en ordlyd; the ending -en marks the common-gender definite singular. The definite form is suitable because the sentence refers to the wording of the relevant claim or expression, without specifying a separate person as its referent. anderledes means “different” or “different in wording.” It is used predicatively after er in ordlyden er anderledes. This form does not take a separate gender or number ending here. Compare the adjective forskellig, which can show agreement in some uses, while anderledes remains unchanged: Teksten er anderledes. — “The text is different.” Together, Jeg burde også henvise til kilder gives “I should also cite sources,” and for påstande specifies that the sources are for claims. The subordinate clause selv når ordlyden er anderledes adds the condition “even when the wording is different.” The complete meaning is: “I should also cite sources for claims, even when the wording is different.”

8. Det er afgørende, fordi idéer også kræver en kildehenvisning.

   That is essential, because ideas require attribution too.

   Det

   That

   afgørende

   essential; crucial

   fordi

   because

   idéer

   ideas

   også

   also; too

   kræver

   require

   kildehenvisning

   attribution; citation

   More detail

   Det is the Danish neuter singular form used here for “that.” In this sentence it functions as the subject and refers to something already understood from the context; the supplied translation supports that reference without identifying a more specific noun. Danish also uses den for common-gender singular “that,” while det is the neuter form. afgørende means “essential” or “crucial” here. It is an adjective in a predicative position after er. The form is also used with a neuter singular subject and in the plural, so this form itself does not show a separate gender or number ending in this sentence. Its base form is afgørende; it is not derived from the nearby pronoun. fordi introduces the reason for the preceding statement and corresponds to “because.” It begins a subordinate clause. For example: Jeg bliver hjemme, fordi jeg er syg. — “I am staying home because I am ill.” idéer means “ideas.” It is the plural of idé; the singular is en idé. The plural ending is part of the noun, and the plural subject later combines with kræver to express what ideas require. også means “also” or “too.” Here it adds the idea that attribution is required in addition to something already relevant in the context. Its position immediately before kræver places that addition within the reason clause; the exact scope is understood from the sentence as a whole. kræver means “require” here. It is the present-tense form of kræve. Danish present-tense verbs generally use the same form across persons and numbers, so kræver can occur with both a singular and a plural subject. For example: Reglerne kræver dokumentation. — “The rules require documentation.” kildehenvisning means “attribution” or “citation” in this context. It is a singular common-gender compound noun, used with the indefinite article en: en kildehenvisning. The compound refers to a reference to a source; its form should not be treated as a numeric claim beyond the grammar of the indefinite noun phrase. Together, Det er afgørende says “That is essential.” fordi then introduces the reason: idéer også kræver en kildehenvisning, “because ideas require attribution too.” The complete meaning is: “That is essential, because ideas require attribution too.”