Learn how to use adjectives
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Gina: Hello, and welcome back to DanishClass101.com. This is Absolute Beginner season 1, lesson 15, Braving the Cold in Denmark. I’m Gina. |
| Anna: Hej! And I’m Anna. |
| Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use adjectives. |
| Anna: Knowing how to use adjectives is important when you’re learning a foreign language. |
| Gina: So let’s get started! |
| Anna: The conversation takes place on the street and it is between Peter, Emma, and William. |
| Gina: The speakers are friends, and they’re using standard Danish. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Let's listen to the conversation. |
| Peter: Jeg fryser! Det er koldt herude. |
| Emma: Vinteren er kold i Danmark. |
| Peter: Bliver det også blæsende? |
| William: Sandsynligvis. |
| Let's hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Peter: Jeg fryser! Det er koldt herude. |
| Emma: Vinteren er kold i Danmark. |
| Peter: Bliver det også blæsende? |
| William: Sandsynligvis. |
| Now let's hear it with the English translation. |
| Peter: Jeg fryser! Det er koldt herude. |
| Peter: I am freezing! It is cold out here. |
| Emma: Vinteren er kold i Danmark. |
| Emma: The winter is cold in Denmark. |
| Peter: Bliver det også blæsende? |
| Peter: Does it also get windy? |
| William: Sandsynligvis. |
| William: Probably. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Gina: So, Anna, why don’t we have a chat about seasonal activities in Denmark? |
| Anna: Sure! During winter, Danes usually get ready for Christmas and do tons of Christmas-related activities. |
| Gina: What else is fun to do during winter? |
| Anna: Playing in the snow, ice skating, sledding… |
| Gina: Hmm, I’d rather go some place warm and sunny. |
| Anna: Well, many Danes do that, too, actually. |
| Gina: What do you do during spring? |
| Anna: Since the weather starts to get milder then, many people will enjoy the blossoming scenery outside. |
| Gina: That sounds nice! How about during summer, my favourite time of year? |
| Anna: Danes either go to the beach, go camping, relax in summer-houses, or go to festivals. |
| Gina: And what about autumn? |
| Anna: During autumn, Danes like to enjoy the colors of autumn outside, before it gets too cold. Many also go for walks in the woods and hunt mushrooms! |
| Gina: It seems like our listeners can expect something new and fun no matter which season they visit Denmark! |
| VOCAB |
| Gina: Now let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is |
| Anna: jeg |
| Gina: I |
| Anna: (SLOW) jeg, jeg |
| Next: |
| Anna: fryse |
| Gina: freeze, be cold |
| Anna: (SLOW) fryse, fryse |
| Next: |
| Anna: være |
| Gina: be |
| Anna: (SLOW) være, være |
| Next: |
| Anna: kold |
| Gina: cold |
| Anna: (SLOW) kold, kold |
| Next: |
| Anna: herude |
| Gina: out here |
| Anna: (SLOW) herude, herude |
| Next: |
| Anna: vinter |
| Gina: winter |
| Anna: (SLOW) vinter, vinter |
| Next: |
| Anna: blive |
| Gina: become, get, stay, remain |
| Anna: (SLOW) blive, blive |
| Next: |
| Anna: også |
| Gina: also, too, as well |
| Anna: (SLOW) også, også |
| Next: |
| Anna: blæsende |
| Gina: windy |
| Anna: (SLOW) blæsende, blæsende |
| Next: |
| Anna: sandsynligvis |
| Gina: probably, most likely |
| Anna: (SLOW) sandsynligvis, sandsynligvis |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Gina: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What’s first? |
| Anna: Vinter [pause] Vinter. |
| Gina: This means “winter.” What are the other three seasons in Danish? |
| Anna: “Spring” is forår, “summer” is sommer, and “autumn” is efterår. Forår [pause] Sommer [pause] Efterår. |
| Gina: Next we have... |
| Anna: Blive [pause] Blive. |
| Gina: This is a verb with several meanings. It can mean “become,” “get,” “stay,” or “remain,” for example. You can also use it to indicate slow or quick change. |
| Anna: For example, “to grow old” is at blive gammel [pause] At blive gammel. |
| Gina: In this case, the verb means “grow” as in “to grow old.” |
| Anna: Yes, because gammel means “old.” An example of quick change is “to turn pale,” which in Danish is at blive bleg [pause] At blive bleg. |
| Gina: Here, the verb means “turn”, as in to turn a certain color for example. |
| Anna: In this case, it’s “pale,” which is bleg in Danish. |
| Gina: You can also use the verb to indicate unwanted change. |
| Anna: For example, “to go blind” is at blive blind [pause] At blive blind. |
| Gina: Here, the verb means “go” as in to go blind or deaf for example. What’s next? |
| Anna: Også [pause] Også. |
| Gina: This is an adverb and means “also,” “too,” or “as well.” |
| Anna: In subject-verb-object sentences, også is placed after the verb. For example, “We were also on the boat” is Vi var også på båden. Vi means “we,” var means “were,” også means “also,” and på båden means “on the boat.” |
| Gina: When used in questions, også is usually placed after the subject. |
| Anna: For example, “Are you staying till tomorrow, too?” is Bliver du også til i morgen? [pause] Bliver du også til i morgen? |
| Gina: In this case, bliver is the present tense form of the verb “stay.” |
| Anna: Du is the pronoun “you,” and here, også means “too.” Til i morgen means “till tomorrow.” |
| Gina: Okay, now onto the grammar. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use adjectives. |
| Anna: An adjective in Danish changes according to three forms. The basic form, the t-form, and the e-form. |
| Gina: Let’s have a look at the basic form first. |
| Anna: This form is used with singular common gender nouns. When an adjective is before a noun, it stays in its basic or dictionary form. |
| Gina: Can you give us an example? |
| Anna: Sure. En gul banan [pause] En gul banan. |
| Gina: This means “a yellow banana.” |
| Anna: En is the indefinite article “a,” gul is the adjective “yellow” in basic form, and banan means “banana,” of course. |
| Gina: What if an adjective comes after a common gender noun? |
| Anna: In that case, the adjective will most likely follow the noun AND the verb være or the verb blive, which mean “be” and “become.” |
| Gina: Can you give us an example? |
| Anna: Of course. Filmen er lang [pause] Filmen er lang. |
| Gina: This means “The movie is long.” |
| Anna: Filmen means “the movie,” er is the verb “be” in present tense, and lang is the adjective “long” in basic form. |
| Gina: The basic form is also used when adjectives follow a singular pronoun. |
| Anna: Yes, for example, Du er høj means “You are tall.” Du er høj. |
| Gina: Du is the pronoun “you,” er is the verb “be” in present tense, and høj is the adjective “tall” in basic form. |
| Anna: That’s right. |
| Gina: What about the t-form then? |
| Anna: This form is used with singular neuter gender nouns. |
| Gina: When an adjective is before a noun, you add -t to the adjective. |
| Anna: For example, “a green apple” is et grønt æble [pause] Et grønt æble. |
| Gina: Æble means “apple” and is a neuter gender noun. |
| Anna: Therefore, you use et as the indefinite article and add -t to the adjective grøn so it becomes grønt. |
| Gina: This means “green” by the way. |
| Anna: You also use the t-form and add -t when adjectives follow a noun and a verb. For example, Havet er blåt [pause] Havet er blåt. |
| Gina: This means “The ocean is blue.” |
| Anna: Havet means “the ocean” or ‘the sea’ and is the noun hav in definite form. Er is the verb “be” in present tense, and blåt is the adjective blå in t-form, which means “blue.” |
| Gina: Great. So what about the last form? |
| Anna: You use the e-form with the definite articles den and det, which both mean “the.” |
| Gina: Can you give us some examples? |
| Anna: Sure. Den søde melon [pause] Den søde melon. |
| Gina: This means “the sweet melon.” |
| Anna: Breaking this down, first is the definite article den which is used with common gender nouns, then it’s søde which is the adjective sød in e-form, meaning “sweet.” And finally it’s melon which is the common gender noun “melon.” |
| Gina: If you're using a neuter gender noun, remember to change the definite article to det instead of den. |
| Anna: That’s right. |
| Gina: You also use the e-form in the plural. |
| Anna: Yes, for example, “red tomatoes” is røde tomater [pause] Røde tomater. |
| Gina: -E is added to the adjective |
| Anna: rød, |
| Gina: which means “red,” and tomater means “tomatoes.” |
| Anna: The e-form is also used when the adjective follows a noun in plural and a verb. For example, Børnene er glade [pause] Børnene er glade. |
| Gina: This means “The children are happy.” |
| Anna: Børnene means “the children,” er is the verb “be” in present tense, and glade is the adjective glad in e-form meaning “happy.” |
| Gina: The e-form is also used when the adjective follows a plural pronoun and a verb. |
| Anna: For example, De var rige means “They were rich.” De var rige. |
| Gina: De means “they,” var is the verb “be” in past tense, and rige is the adjective rig in e-form meaning “rich.” |
Outro |
|---|
| Anna: Phew, that was some grammar this time! |
| Gina: We hope it didn’t go too fast. But remember, you can always check the lesson notes for more info on this lesson’s grammar and to see more examples. In the mean time, thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
| Anna: Hej Hej! |
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