Ending a Networking Conversation Politely | Learn Danish in English

Sentence explanations

1. Jeg har nydt at tale med dig.

   I have enjoyed talking with you.

   Jeg har

   I have

   nydt

   enjoyed

   at tale

   to talk

   med dig

   with you

   More detail

   Jeg har means “I have” here. Jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. Har is the present-tense form of have; with a past participle, it helps form the perfect, which presents the enjoyment as completed or experienced up to the relevant point. The form is har with jeg, not a separate English-style form such as “has”. nydt means “enjoyed” in this sentence. It is the past participle of nyde (“to enjoy”): nyde → nydt. The participle follows har in this perfect construction. For example, Jeg har læst means “I have read”; the changing verb form is læst, while har remains the auxiliary. at tale means “to talk”. Tale is the infinitive form “talk”, and at marks the infinitive here. After verbs such as nyde, Danish can use at plus an infinitive to name the activity that is enjoyed. For example, Jeg elsker at læse means “I love reading” or “I love to read.” med dig means “with you”. Med is the preposition “with”. Dig is the second-person singular pronoun in the form used here after a preposition; compare med mig, “with me”. The phrase identifies the person accompanying the talking activity. Together, Jeg har + nydt forms “I have enjoyed”, and at tale specifies the activity enjoyed. Med dig adds the person involved: “with you”. The complete utterance therefore means “I have enjoyed talking with you.”

2. Men jeg bør møde et par mennesker mere.

   But I should meet a few more people.

   Men

   but

   jeg bør

   I should

   møde

   meet

   et par

   a few

   mennesker

   people

   mere

   more

   More detail

   Men means “but” here and links this statement to what came before, signaling a contrast or continuation. jeg bør expresses “I should.” jeg is the first-person singular pronoun “I”. bør is the present form of the modal verb burde, used for advice, expectation, or duty. A useful pattern is jeg bør + infinitive: “I should …”. Unlike a main verb that normally takes at before an infinitive, a modal such as bør is followed directly by the infinitive. møde is the infinitive “to meet.” In this sentence it follows bør, so it names the action that the speaker considers advisable or necessary. Example: Jeg bør ringe. — “I should call.” et par is a compact quantity expression meaning “a few” here. Its literal association with “a pair” does not require the sentence to assert exactly two people; the fixed translation supports the intended small, indefinite quantity. Example: et par dage — “a few days.” mennesker means “people” and is the plural of menneske, “person/human being.” The plural form fits the quantity expression et par. Example: Mange mennesker kommer. — “Many people are coming.” mere means “more” in this sentence. It adds to the quantity of people the speaker still intends to meet: et par mennesker mere = “a few more people.” Here it modifies the quantity, not the verb møde; it does not by itself mean “again.” Together, jeg bør møde gives “I should meet,” and et par mennesker mere gives “a few more people.” With the contrast marker Men, the complete utterance means: “But I should meet a few more people.”

3. Jeg forstår; det er den slags arrangement, hvor tiden hurtigt forsvinder.

   I understand; this is the kind of event where time disappears quickly.

   forstår

   understand

   det er

   it is

   den slags

   this kind of

   arrangement

   event

   hvor

   where

   tiden

   time

   hurtigt

   quickly

   forsvinder

   disappears

   More detail

   forstår is the present-tense form of forstå, “to understand.” Danish present-tense verbs generally do not change for person or number, so forstår can be used with jeg, du, or another subject; here Jeg forstår means “I understand.” Example: Jeg forstår spørgsmålet. — “I understand the question.” det er combines det, “it/this,” with er, the present form of være, “to be.” In this sentence, det introduces the situation being characterized, and er links it to the description that follows. den slags is a reusable expression meaning “this kind of” in the fixed translation, or more generally “that kind of/such a kind of” depending on context. It is followed here by the noun arrangement, so den slags arrangement means “this kind of event.” Do not treat den as an assertion about a numeric quantity; the expression classifies the event by type. arrangement is a noun meaning “event” here. Danish nouns can be indefinite or definite: et arrangement means “an event,” while arrangementet means “the event.” The form in this sentence is the indefinite noun after den slags, within the type expression. hvor means “where” and introduces the part that describes the situation associated with the event. It can refer to a physical place, but it can also introduce a setting or situation, as here: “where time disappears quickly.” tiden means “time” here. It is the definite singular form of tid, “time”: tid is indefinite, while tiden is “the time.” The definite form presents time as the relevant general resource in this situation, not as a newly counted unit. hurtigt means “quickly.” It is the adverbial form related to the adjective hurtig, “quick.” Example: Hun løber hurtigt. — “She runs quickly.” The adverb describes how the disappearance happens, not the event itself. forsvinder is the present-tense form of forsvinde, “to disappear” or “vanish.” Like forstår, it has the same present form across ordinary subjects for person and number. Here tiden is the subject, so tiden forsvinder means “time disappears.” Example: Mørket forsvinder langsomt. — “The darkness disappears slowly.” Together, Jeg forstår gives “I understand.” The semicolon then introduces the explanation: det er den slags arrangement identifies the event as this kind of event, and hvor tiden hurtigt forsvinder describes it as a situation where time disappears quickly. The complete meaning is: “I understand; this is the kind of event where time disappears quickly.”

4. Før jeg går, kunne vi så udveksle kontaktoplysninger?

   Before I go, could we exchange contact details?

   Før

   before

   jeg

   I

   går

   go; leave

   kunne vi

   could we

   udveksle

   exchange

   kontaktoplysninger

   contact details

   More detail

   Før means “before” here and introduces the time clause Før jeg går (“before I go”). In Danish, før can introduce a clause with its own subject and verb, or a noun phrase. Example: Ring, før du kommer. — “Call before you come.” jeg is the first-person singular subject pronoun “I.” It is used for the speaker as the subject, regardless of the speaker’s gender. Example: Jeg kommer senere. — “I am coming later.” går is the present form of gå, “go” or “walk.” Here it means “go/leave,” not specifically “walk.” Danish present forms can also describe a planned or expected near-future action when the context makes that clear. Example: Jeg går nu. — “I’m leaving now.” kunne vi combines kunne with the subject vi, “we.” kunne is the past form of kan (“can; be able to”) and is also the infinitive form of that modal. In a request, it commonly gives a tentative or polite “could.” The question order places the modal before the subject: Kunne vi ...? — “Could we ...?” Example: Kunne vi tale senere? — “Could we talk later?” udveksle is the infinitive “exchange.” After the modal kunne, Danish uses the infinitive directly: kunne udveksle means “could exchange.” Example: Vi kan udveksle idéer. — “We can exchange ideas.” kontaktoplysninger means “contact details” or “contact information.” It is the plural of kontaktoplysning, “contact detail.” Danish compounds are commonly written as one word, as in kontakt + oplysning; the observed form is the plural compound. Example: Hun gav mig sine kontaktoplysninger. — “She gave me her contact details.” Together, Før jeg går sets the time “before I go.” The question kunne vi så udveksle kontaktoplysninger? asks tentatively whether the speaker and the other person could exchange contact details at that point. så links the request to that time and contributes a meaning like “then.” The whole utterance means: “Before I go, could we exchange contact details?”

5. Det vil jeg gerne. Jeg vil gerne fortsætte denne samtale senere.

   I would like that. I want to continue this conversation later.

   Det vil jeg gerne

   I would like that

   fortsætte

   continue

   denne

   this

   samtale

   conversation

   senere

   later

   More detail

   Det vil jeg gerne means “I would like that” here. Det is the pronoun “that/it”; its exact referent is understood from the preceding exchange, where the speaker is responding positively to the proposed exchange of contact details. vil is the present form of ville, “would want/would like” in this construction, and gerne adds the sense of willingness or desire. Danish commonly places this pattern as Det vil jeg gerne when accepting or expressing willingness to do the proposed thing. In the second sentence, Jeg vil gerne ... uses the same useful pattern with the subject first: “I would like to ...” or “I want to ...”. fortsætte means “continue” and is an infinitive. After vil, the following verb is in the infinitive: Jeg vil gerne fortsætte = “I would like to continue.” The same verb can be used with other objects, for example: Jeg vil fortsætte arbejdet. — “I will continue the work.” denne means “this” and identifies a singular noun that is close or relevant in the speaker’s situation. It agrees with the noun it determines; in this sentence it occurs with samtale. Danish also has disse for the plural “these.” samtale means “conversation.” It is a common noun; its definite form is samtalen, “the conversation,” and its plural is samtaler, “conversations.” Here, denne samtale is the noun phrase “this conversation.” senere means “later.” It places the continuation at a time after the current moment or after the relevant present activity. For example: Vi taler senere. — “We will talk later.” Together, Jeg vil gerne fortsætte denne samtale senere is built as Jeg (“I”) + vil gerne (“would like to”) + fortsætte (“continue”) + denne samtale (“this conversation”) + senere (“later”). The first sentence, Det vil jeg gerne, accepts the proposed action; the second specifies that the speaker would like to continue this conversation later. The complete utterance therefore means: “I would like that. I want to continue this conversation later.”

6. En kort note om vores emne ville gøre opfølgningen lettere.

   A short note about our topic would make the follow-up easier.

   En

   a

   kort

   short

   note

   note

   vores

   our

   emne

   topic

   ville

   would

   gøre

   make

   opfølgningen

   the follow-up

   lettere

   easier

   More detail

   En is the indefinite article used with the common-gender noun note: en note means “a note.” It introduces a non-specific note; the article does not by itself state a numerical count. kort means “short” here and describes note. Its base form is kort; the related comparative is kortere (“shorter”) and the superlative is kortest (“shortest”). In this noun phrase, kort agrees with the common-gender singular noun. note is the noun “note.” Its definite form is noten (“the note”), formed with the definite ending -en. vores means “our.” This possessive form is invariant in Danish: it does not change for the gender or number of the thing possessed. vores emne therefore means “our topic.” emne means “topic” or “subject.” With om (“about”), om vores emne is a reusable pattern meaning “about our topic.” ville is the form of vil used here in the conditional construction ville + infinitive: “would ...”. Although vil can also mean “will” or “want,” ville gøre here means “would make,” not “wanted to make.” gøre is the infinitive of gøre, “to make” or “to do.” In ville gøre, it remains in the infinitive after the modal ville. The pattern gøre noget lettere means “make something easier.” opfølgningen means “the follow-up.” The base noun is opfølgning; its definite form is opfølgningen, with the common-gender definite ending -en. The definite form presents the follow-up as an identifiable activity or step in this context. lettere is the comparative form of let (“easy” or “light”). The useful comparison chain is let → lettere → lettest (“easy” → “easier” → “easiest”). Danish comparative adjectives do not take a separate gender or number ending here. The comparison is implicit: the follow-up would become easier than it would otherwise be. Together, En kort note om vores emne is “a short note about our topic.” ville gøre adds the conditional meaning “would make,” and opfølgningen lettere says what would be made easier. The complete utterance therefore means: “A short note about our topic would make the follow-up easier.”

7. Nævn vores snak om arbejdsgangen, så kender jeg sammenhængen.

   Mention the workflow discussion, and I will know the context.

   Nævn

   mention

   vores

   our

   snak

   conversation; chat

   arbejdsgangen

   the workflow

   kender

   know

   jeg

   I

   sammenhængen

   the context

   More detail

   Nævn is the imperative of nævne (“to mention”): it addresses one or more people directly and asks them to mention something. Example: Nævn et eksempel. — “Mention an example.” vores means “our.” It is the possessive form for the first-person plural possessor and does not change according to the gender or number of the possessed noun in this phrase. snak is a noun meaning “talk” or “conversation.” Here it is part of the noun phrase vores snak, “our conversation.” Example: Vi havde en kort snak. — “We had a short conversation.” arbejdsgangen means “the workflow.” It is the definite singular form of arbejdsgang (“workflow”): arbejdsgang → arbejdsgangen. The ending -en marks definite singular for this noun. With om, the phrase om arbejdsgangen means “about the workflow,” so vores snak om arbejdsgangen means “our conversation about the workflow.” kender is the present form of kende, used here for “know” or “be familiar with” a person, place, subject, or context. Danish kende is distinct from vide, which is commonly used for knowing a fact or piece of information. Example: Jeg kender området. — “I know the area.” jeg means “I” and is the first-person singular subject pronoun. It is the subject of the second clause, so the speaker is the person who will know the context. sammenhængen means “the context” here. It is the definite singular form of sammenhæng (“context” or “connection”): sammenhæng → sammenhængen. The definite form presents the context as identifiable in this utterance, without specifying any further details about it. The sentence begins with the imperative Nævn and its object, vores snak om arbejdsgangen: “Mention our conversation about the workflow.” The conjunction så then introduces the result: kender jeg sammenhængen, literally “I know the context.” In this context, the present form kender expresses the expected result—“I will know the context.” Together, the utterance means: “Mention the workflow discussion, and I will know the context.”

8. Jeg satte pris på de konkrete eksempler, du delte.

   I appreciated the concrete examples you shared.

   satte pris på

   appreciated

   konkrete

   concrete, specific

   eksempler

   examples

   delte

   shared

   More detail

   “satte pris på” is the fixed Danish expression used here for “appreciated.” Its base verb is sætte, but in this expression the past form is satte, and på is part of the expression. Example: “Jeg satte pris på din hjælp.” — “I appreciated your help.” “konkrete” means “concrete” or “specific” here. The adjective’s base form is konkret; konkrete is used with the plural noun phrase de konkrete eksempler. With a singular indefinite noun, the form is commonly konkret, as in “et konkret eksempel” — “a concrete example.” “eksempler” is the plural of the noun eksempel, “example.” The definite plural phrase de konkrete eksempler means “the concrete examples.” Example: “Jeg bruger flere eksempler.” — “I use several examples.” delte is the past form of the verb dele, “share.” It means “shared” in this sentence. Example: “Du delte et link.” — “You shared a link.” The sentence begins with Jeg, “I,” followed by the past expression satte pris på. Its object is de konkrete eksempler, “the concrete examples.” The clause du delte means “you shared” and specifies which examples are meant: “the concrete examples that you shared.” Together, Jeg satte pris på de konkrete eksempler, du delte. means “I appreciated the concrete examples you shared.”

9. Dine spørgsmål hjalp mig med at forklare dem tydeligere.

   Your questions helped me explain them more clearly.

   Dine

   your

   spørgsmål

   questions

   hjalp

   helped

   mig

   me

   forklare

   explain

   dem

   them

   tydeligere

   more clearly

   More detail

   Dine means “your” here and is used with a plural noun. Compare din with a singular common-gender noun, dit with a singular neuter noun, and dine with a plural noun. The following noun, spørgsmål, is plural. spørgsmål means “questions.” Its singular is spørgsmål, and its plural is also spørgsmål; the number is shown by the context or another word such as dine. Example: Et spørgsmål — “A question”; to spørgsmål — “two questions.” hjalp is the past-tense form of hjælpe, “to help.” In the past tense, hjalp does not change for the subject’s person or number. Example: De hjalp mig. — “They helped me.” mig is the object form meaning “me.” Danish uses mig as an object after a verb and after a preposition; here it is the object of hjalp. The corresponding subject form is jeg, “I.” Example: Hun hjælper mig. — “She helps me.” forklare means “to explain.” It is the infinitive form, used here in the construction med at forklare, “with explaining” or, naturally in English, “to explain.” The pattern hjælpe nogen med at + infinitive means “help someone with doing something” or, naturally in English, “help someone do something.” Example: Han hjalp os med at finde vejen. — “He helped us find the way.” dem means “them” as an object pronoun. It refers to plural people or things in the intended translation, but the fixed sentence does not identify exactly who or what they are. The subject counterpart is de, “they.” Example: Jeg så dem. — “I saw them.” tydeligere means “more clearly” here. It is the comparative form of the adverb tydeligt, “clearly,” and it modifies forklare: the explaining is clearer than before or clearer by comparison. Example: Tal tydeligere. — “Speak more clearly.” Together, Dine spørgsmål is “your questions,” and hjalp mig med at forklare dem says that they helped me explain them. The final adverb tydeligere describes how I explained them. The complete meaning is: “Your questions helped me explain them more clearly.”