Learn how to use the past continuous tense and some common weather expressions
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| Beginner Season 1 Lesson 5 -The Danish Weather is Predictably Unpredictable! |
| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to DanishClass101.com. This is Beginner Season 1 Lesson 5 - The Danish Weather is Predictably Unpredictable! Eric here. |
| Anna: Hej! I'm Anna. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to use past continuous tense and some typical weather expressions. The conversation takes place at the station. |
| Anna: It's between Camille and Benedikte. |
| Eric: The speakers are family members. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Camille: Lad os skynde os indenfor. |
| Benedikte: Sikke et regnvejr! |
| Camille: Ja, himlen var blå og skyfri, og solen skinnede for lidt siden. |
| Benedikte: Det kan hurtigt skifte om vinteren. |
| Camille: Jeg ville ønske, det ikke var så koldt. |
| Benedikte: Eller at det ville sne i stedet for at regne. |
| Camille: Ja, men ikke for meget. Ellers stopper togene måske med at køre. |
| Benedikte: Nårh, ja. Det er rigtigt. |
| Camille: Hey, nu hagler det! |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| Camille: Lad os skynde os indenfor. |
| Benedikte: Sikke et regnvejr! |
| Camille: Ja, himlen var blå og skyfri, og solen skinnede for lidt siden. |
| Benedikte: Det kan hurtigt skifte om vinteren. |
| Camille: Jeg ville ønske, det ikke var så koldt. |
| Benedikte: Eller at det ville sne i stedet for at regne. |
| Camille: Ja, men ikke for meget. Ellers stopper togene måske med at køre. |
| Benedikte: Nårh, ja. Det er rigtigt. |
| Camille: Hey, nu hagler det! |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Camille: Lad os skynde os indenfor. |
| Camille: Let's hurry inside. |
| Benedikte: Sikke et regnvejr! |
| Benedikte: What rainy weather! |
| Camille: Ja, himlen var blå og skyfri, og solen skinnede for lidt siden. |
| Camille: Yes, the sky was blue and cloudless and the sun was shining a little while ago. |
| Benedikte: Det kan hurtigt skifte om vinteren. |
| Benedikte: It can change quickly during the winter. |
| Camille: Jeg ville ønske, det ikke var så koldt. |
| Camille: I wish it wasn’t so cold. |
| Benedikte: Eller at det ville sne i stedet for at regne. |
| Benedikte: Or that it would snow instead of rain. |
| Camille: Ja, men ikke for meget. Ellers stopper togene måske med at køre. |
| Camille: Yes, but not too much. Otherwise, the trains might stop running. |
| Benedikte: Nårh, ja. Det er rigtigt. |
| Benedikte: Oh, yeah. That's right. |
| Camille: Hey, nu hagler det! |
| Camille: Hey, it's hailing now! |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Anna, I guess Denmark has all four seasons, like any other country in Europe. |
| Anna: Right. The winter spans from December to February, the spring from March to May, summer includes the months of June, July, and August, and autumn goes from September to November. |
| Eric: And what about the weather in Denmark? |
| Anna: It’s very unpredictable. Snow can fall as late in the year as April or May, it can be hot even in October, and sometimes it rains all through the winter. |
| Eric: Some scientists say that many countries are experiencing seasonal shifts due to global warming. Do you think this is happening in Denmark? |
| Anna: Maybe. Or maybe it’s just the Danish weather doing what it does best - being unpredictable. |
| Eric: Okay. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Anna: regnvejr [natural native speed] |
| Eric: rainy weather |
| Anna: regnvejr [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: regnvejr [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Anna: himmel [natural native speed] |
| Eric: sky, heaven |
| Anna: himmel [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: himmel [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Anna: skyfri [natural native speed] |
| Eric: cloudless |
| Anna: skyfri [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: skyfri [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Anna: sol [natural native speed] |
| Eric: sun |
| Anna: sol [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: sol [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Anna: at skinne [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to shine |
| Anna: at skinne [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: at skinne [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Anna: at skifte [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to change, to switch |
| Anna: at skifte [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: at skifte [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Anna: at sne [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to snow |
| Anna: at sne [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: at sne [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Anna: at regne [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to rain |
| Anna: at regne [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: at regne [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Anna: ellers [natural native speed] |
| Eric: or, or else, otherwise |
| Anna: ellers [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: ellers [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last.. |
| Anna: at hagle [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to hail |
| Anna: at hagle [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Anna: at hagle [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Anna: himmel |
| Eric: which means “sky,” or “heaven.” |
| Anna: Himmel is often used in reference to the weather or the sky's appearance at different times of the day. |
| Eric: If you want to refer to “heaven” or “paradise,” remember to always use the definite singular form, |
| Anna: himlen. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Anna: Sure. For example, you can say.. Himmelen ligner et flammehav. |
| Eric: ..which means “The sky looks like a sea of flames.” Okay, what's the next word? |
| Anna: skyfri |
| Eric: which means “cloudless.” |
| Anna: Skyfri consists of the noun sky, meaning “cloud,” and the adjective fri which means “free.” |
| Eric: You can use this adjective to describe the weather when the sky is clear and sunny. |
| Anna: A less common usage of skyfri is a figurative use of the word, in reference to a person's facial expression or carefree and sorrowless life. |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Anna: Sure. For example, you can say.. Endelig en skyfri dag! |
| Eric: .. which means “Finally a cloudless day!” Okay, what's the next word? |
| Anna: ellers |
| Eric: which means “or, or else, otherwise.” It can also be used as the equivalent of “in addition” or “in addition to this.” |
| Anna: Another way to use the word ellers is to emphasize a statement, equivalent to the English expressions “indeed,” or “certainly.” If you want to decline an offer politely, you can say ellers tak, which literally means “otherwise thanks.” |
| Eric: Can you give us an example using this word? |
| Anna: Sure. For example, you can say.. Den nye chef virker ellers flink. |
| Eric: .. which means “The new boss seems nice otherwise.” Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn about the past continuous tense and typical weather expressions. |
| Anna: Ok, let’s start with the past continuous tense. |
| Eric: The past continuous tense is used to describe an ongoing action in the past, or something that was taking place when something else happened. |
| Anna: Note, however, that in Danish, the past continuous tense is only used when you want to emphasize the process that was happening in the past. |
| Eric: Right. and to do this, we can choose between three different phrases - |
| Anna: være i færd med, være i gang med, and være ved at |
| Eric: All of these three phrases are equivalent to the verb “be” plus the second verb in -ing form. Here we have an example - |
| Anna: Using the first pattern - Jeg var i færd med at spise. |
| Eric: “I was eating.” |
| Anna: Jeg is the pronoun “I,” var is the verb at være, “to be” in past tense meaning “was,” and spise means “eat.” I færd med is used to create the progressive tense of the verb, equivalent to adding the ing-form in English. So it can’t be translated on its own. |
| Eric: Now let’s use the second pattern. |
| Anna: Jeg var i gang med at spise |
| Eric: Which has the same meaning - “I was eating.” |
| Anna: Right, and using the third pattern we have - Jeg var ved at spise. |
| Eric: Again, “I was eating.” |
| Anna: You can also use the verb lave, meaning “to do” or “to make,” to form the past continuous tense. |
| Eric: Listeners, you can find out how to conjugate this verb and more examples in the Lesson Notes. |
| Anna: Ok, let’s move on to our next grammar point - typical weather expressions. |
| Eric: No matter what the language, this subject will always come in handy when you are starting a conversation. |
| Anna: Exactly! Listeners, there is a conjugated chart with common weather-related verbs in the Lesson Notes, so be sure to check them out. |
| Eric: Now let’s move on to talk about how to form weather-related nouns in Danish. |
| Anna: This is really simple – you can form weather-related nouns by adding the suffix -vejr to a general noun. |
| Eric: Does this suffix have a meaning by itself? |
| Anna: Yes, it does. The neuter gender noun vejr by itself means “weather.” |
| Eric: And as a suffix, it is used to create weather-related nouns, or is used to describe what kind of weather is happening at a given time. |
| Anna: The noun remains exactly the same, we just add -vejr at the end. |
| Eric: You can turn any noun into a new one that describes the current type of weather. For example - |
| Anna: regn, |
| Eric: meaning “rain,” |
| Anna: Plus vejr becomes regnvejr |
| Eric: meaning “rainy weather.” |
| Anna: Note that the nouns ending with -vejr are all neuter gender nouns, because vejr is a neuter gender noun by itself. |
| Eric: Anna, when we’re creating nouns like this, do we need to add or remove any letters? |
| Anna: Generally no, but of course there are some exceptions. |
| Eric: Okay, now before we go, can you give us a couple more examples? |
| Anna: Sure! For example, tordenvejr |
| Eric: “thunderstorm” |
| Anna: snevejr |
| Eric: “snowy weather” |
| Eric: Ok, let’s use those in sample sentences. |
| Anna: Good idea. Sikke et tordenvejr i går! |
| Eric: “What a thunderstorm yesterday!” |
| Anna: Kør ikke ud i snevejret! |
| Eric: “Do not drive out into the snowy weather!” |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Anna: Vi ses! |
Comments
HideHello! Are there four seasons in your country as well?
Hi Monique,
Thank you for your comment, your sentence is very good!😄
I only have a small comment, 'er det meget varmt helt år' it will have to be ' er det meget varmt hele året' because you are talking about the whole year.
Wish you a great day.
Kinds regards
Camilla
TeamDanishClass101.com
Nej. I Brasilien er det måske to saesoner. Men det kommer an på regioner. I mit region, er det meget varmt helt år.
Hi Alisha,
Tak for din kommentar.
Din sætning er helt korrekt 'your sentence is correct'
I hope you will enjoy the rest of our lessons. 😄
All the best
Camilla
TeamDanishClass101.com
Jeg kommer fra Boston i USA. Vejret i Boston er næsten det samme som vejret i Danmark. Dog sommeren er varmere og vinteren er koldere. Der er mere snevejr i Boston også.
Hi Hei
Very good sentence.
Only one very small correction for you, it is 'Mit hjemland'
Wish you a great day.
Kinds
Camilla
Team DanishClass101.com
Min hjemmeland er Thailand. Thailand er ret varmt, selv om vinteren kan det være 25c. Der er aldrig snevejret i Thailand.
Hi Savannah,
Thanks for sharing.
Ja. Vejret i Californien er meget forskelligt fra vejret og årstiderne i Danmark.
In Danish to say "seasons" in the context of the weather and climate, we say "årstider".
Best,
Jonas
Team DanishClass101.com
Mit hjemland, USA, har mange saesoner men ikke min hjemstat, California. i Californien vi har ild saeson og en mild vinter. Sommetider sommer er meget hed og tør
Hej Eric,
The difference is quite simply.
Eller (conjunction) --- or
Kaffe eller te? --- Coffee or tea?
Ellers (adverb) --- or else, or, if not, on the opposite side
Tag den ellers tager jeg den. Take it or else I will take it.
By the way in your question you need to conjugate forskel to forskellen.
Hvad er forskellen mellem "eller" og "ellers"?
Hope this makes it clear.
Thank you for using our system.
Kindly
Anna Maria
Team DanishClass101.com
Hei,
Hvad er forskel mellem 'eller' og 'ellers'? (What is the difference between 'eller' and 'ellers'?)
Hej Connor,
Det lyder som det samme vejr vi har i Danmark.
It sounds like the samme weather as we have in Denmark.
There are a few grammar misses in your sentence, please look bellow to see the difference.
Der er fire sæsoner i England, men det regner hele tiden... Det er ikke så koldt om vinteren - sikke en skam. Så det sner sjældent!
Keep up the good work. And please let us know if we can help you.
Kindly
Anna Maria
Team DanishClass101.com
Hi Toni,
Thank you for your question.
Until the beginning of the 19th century in Danish spring and autumn was know as "vaar" and "høst". At some point summer seems to have become the full year in a sense. "Forår" can be translated as beforeyear and "efterår" can be translated as afteryear.
If you want then you can use the old forms people still understand the meaning, since we use it in poetry and they appear in older teksts.
If you have any other questions please feel free to contact us again.
Kindly
Team DanishClass101.com
Der er fire sæsoner på England, men det regner hele tiden... Det gør ikke så koldt om vinteren - sikke en skam. Det sjælden sner også!
Okay, my question is: Why Autumn in Danish is said Efterår? Efterår literally means "after the year" but Autumn comes before the new year.
Hi Artur.
Thanks for sharing.
That sounds interesting. Due to climate changes, or what have you, we almost don't see snow in Denmark anymore.
"Sæsoner" could be replaced with "årstider", which is more common in this context.
Well done.
Cheers
Marc
Team DanishClass101.com
Hi Luca.
Thanks for your question.
Yes, "ville" is a modal verb. Its presence in the sentence indicates that the speaker already knows that it rains or it's cold outside and that the person would have liked it to be different. If someone talks about tomorrow, they could say "Jeg ønsker, at det ikke regner i morgen" without "ville" and with "ønske" in present tense, not infinitive.
Did that answer your question? Otherwise, please don't hesitate to ask again.
Best regards
Marc
Team DanishClass101.com
Der er fire sæsoner i Moldova. Vinteren er kold og snedækket, og sommeren er varm og tør.
I have a similar question of Seol,
¨Jeg ville ønske¨
What´s the usage of ´ville´ in this sentence?
Is it the modal?
Can you give me more information, please?
Hello Lee,
Thank you for leaving the comment!
If you have any questions, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Cristiane
Team DanishClass101.com
Der er fire sæsoner i Canada. Denne sommer har været regnvejr.