Choosing a Seat in Class | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: In a language classroom, two adults talk about sitting near the front, hearing the teacher clearly, and focusing during class..

EN → DA / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Choosing a Seat in Class to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Sidder du altid her?

SEH-thuh doo ALL-dee HAIR? Do you always sit here?
B

Jeg kan godt lide at sidde foran.

yai kan gohd LEE-theh uh SEH-theh foh-RAN. I like sitting at the front.
A

Jeg kan høre læreren godt.

yai kan HUR-uh LAIR-uhn gohd. I can hear the teacher well.
B

Det er nemt at stille spørgsmål her.

deh air NEMD uh STEL-uh SPUR-sgohl HAIR. It is easy to ask questions here.
A

Lad os sidde sammen næste gang.

LAH ohs SEH-theh suh-MEN NESS-deh GANG. Let's sit together next time.
B

Det vil jeg gerne.

deh veel yai GAIR-nuh. I would like that.
B

At sidde foran hjælper mig med at koncentrere mig.

uh SEH-theh foh-RAN YEL-puh my meh uh kon-sen-TRAY-uh my. Sitting at the front helps me focus.

Word by Word

Sidder Sidder means “sit” in the question Sidder du altid her? It is the present form related to sidde. A reusable question pattern is Sidder + person + place? when asking where someone usually sits.
du Du means “you” when addressing one person, as in Sidder du altid her? It is the subject placed after Sidder in this question. Use du when asking one person about an action or habit.
altid Altid means “always” in Sidder du altid her? It says that the action happens every time or regularly. It commonly comes before the place or time information in a question, as in Sidder du altid her?
her Her means “here,” referring to the place where the speakers are sitting. In Sidder du altid her? it points to the speaker’s current place. Use her to refer to the place where you or the other person is now.
Jeg Jeg means “I” in Jeg kan høre læreren godt and Jeg kan godt lide at sidde foran; the lowercase form jeg also appears later in Det vil jeg gerne. Jeg is capitalized at the beginning of a sentence, while jeg is lowercase elsewhere. It is used as the subject when the speaker describes a preference, ability, or response.
kan godt lide Kan godt lide means “like” in Jeg kan godt lide at sidde foran. Kan, godt, and lide work together as one expression of preference here, so the whole construction—not one component alone—expresses liking. A reusable pattern is Jeg kan godt lide + a noun or at + an action.
at At is the infinitive marker in at sidde, at stille, At sidde, and at koncentrere mig. It introduces the action that is liked, easy, or helpful in these sentences. A reliable pattern is at + verb when referring to an action in this way.
sidde Sidde means “sit” in at sidde foran. It is the infinitive form after at and describes the action of remaining seated. Use at sidde with a place expression such as foran when describing where someone sits.
foran Foran means “at the front” in at sidde foran. It describes the position chosen in the classroom. The reusable pattern sidde foran describes sitting at the front, for example when choosing a seat near the teacher.
kan Kan means “can” in Jeg kan høre læreren godt and expresses the speaker’s ability to hear. Kan is the present form related to kunne. A reusable pattern is Jeg kan + verb when saying what you are able to do.
høre Høre means “hear” in Jeg kan høre læreren godt. It follows kan and names the ability being described. Use kan høre with a person or sound as the thing that can be heard.
læreren Læreren means “the teacher” in Jeg kan høre læreren godt. It is the definite form related to lærer and is the person the speaker can hear. It appears after høre as the person being heard.
godt Godt means “well” in Jeg kan høre læreren godt and describes how clearly the speaker hears the teacher. In kan godt lide, it is one component of the whole expression meaning “like,” rather than a separate meaning of “well.” It can follow a verb when describing how well an action is performed, as in høre læreren godt.
Det Det means “it” in Det er nemt and refers back to the proposed activity in Det vil jeg gerne, where it means “that.” In Det er nemt, it introduces the statement that asking questions is easy; in Det vil jeg gerne, it refers to the suggestion to sit together. Use Det er + description for a simple statement about a situation.
er Er means “is” in Det er nemt. It is the present form related to være and connects Det with the description nemt. A reusable pattern is Det er + description when saying what something is like.
nemt Nemt means “easy” in Det er nemt at stille spørgsmål her. It describes the activity of asking questions as not difficult. It can follow Det er before an action introduced by at, as in Det er nemt at stille spørgsmål her.
stille Stille is the verb used for “ask” in stille spørgsmål. Together with spørgsmål, it forms the meaning “ask questions”; the whole construction carries that meaning. Use stille with spørgsmål when describing asking questions, especially in a classroom.
spørgsmål Spørgsmål means “questions” in stille spørgsmål. It is the thing being asked, while stille supplies the verb in the expression for asking questions. A reusable pattern is stille spørgsmål when asking for information or clarification.
Lad Lad means “let” in Lad os sidde sammen næste gang and is used to make a suggestion. It is the imperative form related to lade in this expression. A reusable pattern is Lad os + action when proposing that the speaker and listener do something together.
os Os means “us” in Lad os sidde sammen næste gang. It identifies the speaker and the listener as the people included in the suggestion. It follows Lad in the reusable suggestion pattern Lad os + action.
sammen Sammen means “together” in Lad os sidde sammen næste gang. It shows that the speakers will sit with each other rather than separately. Use sammen after an action when emphasizing that people do it jointly.
næste Næste means “next” in næste gang. It points to the following occasion, not the current class. It commonly comes directly before a time or occasion word, as in næste gang.
gang Gang means “time” or “occasion” in næste gang, which means “next time.” Here it refers to the following class or meeting. Use gang with a time expression when referring to one occasion, especially in næste gang.
vil Vil contributes the meaning of wanting or being willing in Det vil jeg gerne, which as a whole means “I would like that.” Vil is the present form related to ville, but with gerne it expresses the speaker’s positive response rather than standing alone. A reusable pattern is vil gerne + an action or thing the speaker is willing to do or have.
gerne Gerne expresses willingness or that the speaker would be happy to do something in Det vil jeg gerne. Together with vil and the rest of the sentence, it makes a positive reply to the suggestion. Use vil gerne when accepting or expressing willingness to do an action.
hjælper Hjælper means “helps” in At sidde foran hjælper mig med at koncentrere mig. It says that sitting at the front makes focusing easier for the speaker. Hjælper is the present form related to hjælpe. A reusable pattern is a helpful action + hjælper + a person + med at + an action.
mig Mig means “me” in hjælper mig, where the speaker is the person receiving help. In koncentrere mig, it refers back to the speaker and is part of the expression for focusing oneself. Use mig after a verb when the speaker is affected by the action or is the person carrying it out reflexively.
med Med means “with” in hjælper mig med at koncentrere mig, where it links the help to the action that becomes easier. It is part of the construction for helping someone do something, rather than describing physical accompaniment. A reusable pattern is hjælper + person + med at + action.
koncentrere Koncentrere means “focus” or “concentrate” in at koncentrere mig. It follows at and combines with mig to express focusing oneself. Use med at koncentrere mig when explaining that something helps the speaker focus.

Grammar Points

Lad os + infinitiv

Lad os sidde sammen.

LAH ohs SEH-theh suh-MEN.

Let's sit together.

“Lad os” + infinitive is used to suggest doing something together.

Danish Vocabulary

altid adv
ALL-dee always

Sidder du altid her?

foran adv
foh-RAN in front

Jeg kan godt lide at sidde foran.

her adv
HAIR here

Sidder du altid her?

høre verb
HUR-uh hear

Jeg kan høre læreren godt.

kan godt lide phrase
KAN gohd LEE-theh like

Jeg kan godt lide at sidde foran.

Lad os phrase
LAH ohs let's

Lad os sidde sammen næste gang.

læreren noun
LAIR-uhn the teacher

Jeg kan høre læreren godt.

nemt adj
NEMD easy
Gender
neuter

Det er nemt at stille spørgsmål her.

sidde verb
SEH-theh sit

Jeg kan godt lide at sidde foran.

sidder verb
SEH-thuh sit

Sidder du altid her?

spørgsmål noun
SPUR-sgohl questions

Det er nemt at stille spørgsmål her.

stille spørgsmål phrase
STEL-uh SPUR-sgohl ask questions

Det er nemt at stille spørgsmål her.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Do you always sit here?

Show AnswerSidder du altid her?

I can hear the teacher well.

Show AnswerJeg kan høre læreren godt.

Let's sit together next time.

Show AnswerLad os sidde sammen næste gang.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

always

Show Answeraltid

hear

Show Answerhøre

sit

Show Answersidde

in front

Show Answerforan