LESSON NOTES

Absolute Beginner S1 #15

Braving the Cold in Denmark

CONTENTS
2 Danish
2 English
2 Vocabulary
3 Sample Sentences
3 Vocabulary Phrase Usage
4 Grammar
6 Cultural Insight

# 15
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 DANISH

1. Peter: Jeg fryser! Det er koldt herude.

2. Emma: Vinteren er kold i Danmark.

3. Peter: Bliver det også blæsende?

4. William: Sandsynligvis.

ENGLISH

1. Peter: I am freezing! It is cold out here.

2. Emma: The winter is cold in Denmark.

3. Peter: Does it also get windy?

4. William: Probably.

VOCABULARY

Danish English Class

jeg I pronoun

fryse freeze, be cold verb

være to be verb

vinter winter noun

become, get, stay,

blive remain verb

også also, too, as well adverb

blæsende windy adjective

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 sandsynligvis probably, most likely adverb

kold cold adjective

herude out here adverb

SAMPLE SENTENCES

Jeg spiller t ennis. Jeg er dansk.

"I play t ennis." "I'm Dane."

Vi f ryser og vil hjem! Det er rart at være her.

"We're freezing and want t o go "It 's nice t o be here."

home!"

Hvor har du været hele mit liv? Vint eren var hård.

"Where have you been all my "The wint er was hard."

life?"

Jeg bliver i København i fire Er du blevet rig endnu?

dage.
"Have you become rich yet ?"
"I'll st ay in Copenhagen for four
days."

Han vil også med. Hun spist e også en burger.

"He want s t o come, t oo." "She also at e a burger."

Vejret er meget blæsende i De kommer sandsynligvis

dag. senere.

"The weat her is very windy "They'll probably come lat er."
t oday."

Mine f ødder er kolde. Hvad laver du herude?

"My feet are cold." "What are you doing out here?"

VOCABULARY PHRASE USAGE

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Vinter is a common gender noun and means "winter" in English, of course.
Therefore, it's also used the exact same way in Danish. The other seasons are
forår, which means "spring;" sommer, meaning "summer;" and efterår, which means
"fall" or "autumn." Forår and efterår are neuter gender nouns because they end with
år, which means "year" and is a neuter gender noun. Sommer is a common gender
noun, like vinter.

Blive is a verb with several meanings, such as "become," "get," "stay," and
"remain," as stated in the vocabulary list. However, you can also use blive to
indicate a slow or quick change. For example, "to grow old" is at blive gammel and
"to turn pale" is at blive bleg in Danish. You can also use blive to indicate an
unwanted change. For example, "to go blind" is at blive blind in Danish. Finally, you
can use blive when talking about age. For example, "She will be ten next year" is
Hun bliver ti næste år.

Også is an adverb that means "also," "too," and "as well." In subject-verb-object
sentences, også is usually placed after the verb. For example, "We were also on
the boat" is Vi var også på båden. Vi is the pronoun "we" and the subject of the
sentence. Var is the verb "be" in the past tense, meaning "was." Også means "also"
in this case, and på båden means "on the boat." When used in questions, også is
usually placed after the subject. For example, "Are you staying till tomorrow, too?"
is Bliver du også til i morgen? Bliver, we just learned, can mean "stay," and du is
the pronoun "you." Også, in this case, means "too," and til i morgen means "till
tomorrow."

GRAMMAR

T he Focus of T his Lesson Is How t o Use Adject ives

Vinteren er kold i Danmark.
"T he wint er is cold in Denmark."

In Danish, there are three forms of adjectives. The first form is called the basic
f orm and is used with singular, common gender nouns. For example, "a yellow
banana" is en gul banan in Danish. En is the indefinite article used with common
gender nouns, meaning "a." Gul is an adjective and can mean "yellow." And banan
is a common gender noun and means "banana." The basic form is also how you'll
see the adjective in a dictionary.

The second form is called the t -f orm because you add -t to the end of the
adjective, and it's used with singular, neuter gender nouns. For example, "a green
apple" is et grønt æble in Danish. Et is the indefinite article used with neuter
gender nouns, meaning "a." Next is the adjective grøn, to which -t is added, and it
means "green." And æble is the neuter gender noun "apple."

The third form is called the e-f orm and is used with definite articles. For example,
"the sweet melon" is den søde melon in Danish. Den is the definite article used with
common gender nouns, and it means "the." Instead of adding -en to the end of the

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noun to create the definite form, it's placed before the adjective. When an
adjective follows a definite article, you add -e to the end of the adjective, which, in
this case, is sød and means "sweet." Melon is the common gender noun "melon."

The third form is also used in the plural. For example, "red tomatoes" is røde
tomater in Danish. -E has been added to the adjective rød, which means "red." And
tomater is the plural form of tomat, which means "tomato."

Using Adject ives af t er Nouns or Pronouns

When there is a verb between the noun or pronoun and the adjective in a
sentence, the adjective still changes according to the three forms. The verbs used
in the sentence are most often være ("be") or blive ("become"). The nouns are
most often in the definite form. The basic form is used with singular, common
gender nouns. For example, "The movie is long" is Filmen er lang in Danish. Film,
which means "movie," is a common gender noun, and, therefore, -en is added to
the end of the word to create the definite form. Er is the verb "be" in the present
tense, and lang is the adjective "long" in the basic form. The basic form is also
used with singular pronouns. For example, "You are tall" is Du er høj in Danish. Du is
the pronoun "you," er means "is," and høj is the adjective "tall" or "high."

The t-form is used with neuter gender nouns. For example, "The ocean is blue" is
Havet er blåt. Havet is the neuter gender noun hav in the definite form and means
"the ocean" or "the sea." Er is the verb "be" in the present tense, and blåt is the
adjective blå in the t-form, meaning "blue." You also use the t-form with the pronoun
det, which means "it" and refers to a neuter gender noun. For example, "It is
beautiful" is Det er smukt in Danish. Smukt is the adjective smuk, to which -t is
added in order to create the t-form, and it means "beautiful."

The e-form is used in the plural. For example, "The children are happy" is Børnene
er glade in Danish. Børnene is the neuter gender noun barn in the plural, which
means "the children." Er is the verb "be" in the present tense, and glade is the
adjective glad, to which -e is added, and which means "happy." The e-form is also
used with plural pronouns. For example, "They were rich" is De var rige in Danish.
De is the pronoun "they," var is the verb "be" in the past tense, and rige is the
adjective rig, to which -e is added, and which means "rich."

For example:

1. Vi så en lille kat.
"We saw a small cat."

2. Katten var lille.

"The cat was small."

Examples f rom t his dialogue:

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1. Det er koldt herude.
"It's cold out here."

2. Vinteren er kold i Danmark.

"The winter is cold in Denmark."

Sample Sent ences

1. Jeg er søvnig.
"I'm sleepy."

2. Det har været en lang sommer.

"It has been a long summer."

Language T ip

When adjectives are used to say something about a verb, they become adverbs
instead. The adjective is always placed after the verb and is in the t-form. For
example, "He sings well" is Han synger godt in Danish. Han is the pronoun "he,"
synger is the verb "sing" in the present tense, and godt is the adjective god in the
t-form, meaning "good" or "well."

CULTURAL INSIGHT

Danish Seasons

Some may associate Denmark with constant cold weather, but there are, in fact,
four seasons. During the winter, Danes usually gear up for Christmas, but besides
Christmas-related activities, many also play outside in the snow, build snowmen,
ice skate, and go sledding—especially children. This is also the time of year to go
on vacation and enjoy the warm climates of other places around the world. During
the spring, Danes slowly begin to do more outdoor activities because the weather
starts to get milder. Many like going for walks and watching everything start to
blossom. During the summer, Danes usually go the beach, go camping, or relax in
summer houses close to the sea. Many also go to one of the many Danish music
festivals, such as the Roskilde Festival. During the autumn, Danes like going for
walks in the forests to enjoy the colors of autumn before the weather gets too cold
and windy. Many also carve pumpkins because Halloween has gained in popularity
during the past decade.

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