Changing the height of a chair | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: In a language classroom, two adults talk about a chair that is too low and how to change its height..

EN → DA / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Changing the height of a chair to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Denne stol er for lav.

DEN-uh STOHL ehr fohr LAE-ow. This chair is too low.
B

Du kan ændre højden.

doo kan EN-druh HOY-thn. You can change the height.
A

Hvordan gør jeg det?

VOH-dan GUH-uh yai deh? How do I do that?
B

Tryk på knappen under sædet.

TRYUK poh KNAH-bn UN-uh SEH-thuh. Press the button under the seat.
A

Det er bedre. Tak.

deh ehr BEH-thruh. TAEK. That is better. Thank you.
B

Sig til, hvis den stadig ikke er i orden.

SEE teh, vess den STAY-thee IK-uh ehr ee OR-un. Tell me if it is still not right.

Word by Word

Denne Denne means “this” in Denne stol and points to the particular chair being discussed. It is useful when identifying one specific nearby or known thing.
stol Stol means “chair” in Denne stol. It names the piece of furniture whose height is being discussed. You can reuse it when talking about a chair as the subject or object of a sentence.
er Er means “is” in Denne stol er for lav and connects the chair with its description. It is used in statements such as Denne stol er for lav and Det er bedre.
for For means “too” in for lav, showing that the chair’s low height is a problem. The full expression for lav means “too low.” It can be reused before a description when something exceeds an acceptable limit.
lav Lav means “low” in Denne stol er for lav and describes the chair’s height. Together, for lav means that the height is lower than desired. It can be reused to describe the position or height of something.
Du Du means “you” in Du kan ændre højden and addresses the other person directly. It is used when giving information or instructions to one person.
kan Kan means “can” in Du kan ændre højden and expresses that the person has the possibility or ability to change the height. It is followed here by ændre in kan ændre. A reusable pattern is kan + an action.
ændre Ændre means “change” in kan ændre and refers to modifying the chair’s height. It appears after kan and is followed by the object højden in ændre højden. This pattern can be reused for changing a specific thing.
højden Højden means “the height” in ændre højden and refers to the specific height of the chair. The related dictionary form is højde; højden is the form used here for that specific height. It can be reused after an action such as ændre.
Hvordan Hvordan means “how” in Hvordan gør jeg det? and asks about the method for doing something. It is useful when asking how to complete an action or use something.
gør Gør means “do” in Hvordan gør jeg det? and asks what action is needed. The related dictionary form is gøre. It is used here with det in the pattern gør jeg det.
jeg Jeg means “I” in Hvordan gør jeg det? and identifies the person who will do the action. It is used as the speaker’s subject when asking about or describing their own action.
det Det means “it” or “that” in Hvordan gør jeg det? and refers to the adjustment just mentioned. The capitalized form Det in Det er bedre refers to the result after the button is pressed; the capitalization changes because it begins a sentence.
Tryk Tryk means “press” in Tryk på knappen under sædet and gives a direct instruction. It is useful when telling someone how to operate a button or control.
på På means “on” in Tryk på knappen, and with Tryk it marks the button that should be pressed. The full pattern Tryk på + thing gives an instruction to press that thing.
knappen Knappen means “the button” in Tryk på knappen under sædet and identifies the specific button to press. The related form is knap; knappen is the form used for the particular button here. It can be reused after Tryk på.
under Under means “under” in knappen under sædet and describes the button’s location in relation to the seat. It can be reused to locate one object beneath another.
sædet Sædet means “the seat” in under sædet and identifies the specific part beneath which the button is located. The related form is sæde; sædet is the form used for this particular seat. It can be reused after under when describing a location.
bedre Bedre means “better” in Det er bedre and says that the situation has improved. It is used here after the chair’s height has been changed. It can be reused to evaluate a result after an adjustment.
Tak Tak means “thank you” in Tak and expresses thanks. It can be used on its own after someone has helped, explained something, or followed an instruction.
Sig til Sig til means “let me know” in Sig til, hvis den stadig ikke er i orden. Sig gives the instruction to tell or say something, while til completes the expression by directing that information to the other person. It is useful when asking someone to report a problem or change.
hvis Hvis means “if” in Sig til, hvis den stadig ikke er i orden and introduces the condition for telling the speaker. It can be reused to connect an instruction with a possible situation.
den Den means “it” or “the one” in hvis den stadig ikke er i orden and refers back to the chair. It avoids repeating stol when the object is already known. It can be reused when referring to the same known thing later in a conversation.
stadig Stadig means “still” in den stadig ikke er i orden and shows that the problem may continue after the adjustment. It is useful when checking whether a condition remains unchanged.
ikke Ikke means “not” in ikke er i orden and marks that the chair is not in an acceptable condition. It is used here with er i orden to make the expression negative.
i orden I orden means “right,” “okay,” or “in order” in ikke er i orden. I contributes the idea of “in,” and orden contributes “order,” but together i orden describes something as acceptable or working properly. The reusable expression er i orden means that something is okay.

Grammar Points

for + adjektiv

Denne stol er for lav.

DEN-uh STOHL ehr fohr LAE-ow.

This chair is too low.

for + adjective means “too …”; it shows that something exceeds the suitable degree.

hvis + sætning

Hvis den stadig ikke er i orden, sig til.

Vess den STAY-thee IK-uh ehr ee OR-un, SEE teh.

If it is still not all right, let me know.

hvis introduces a condition. The main clause follows after the comma.

Danish Vocabulary

denne det
DEN-uh this
Gender
common

Denne stol er for lav.

det pron
deh that
Gender
neuter

Hvordan gør jeg det?

du pron
doo you

Du kan ændre højden.

er verb
ehr is

Denne stol er for lav.

for adv
fohr too

Denne stol er for lav.

gør verb
GUH-uh do

Hvordan gør jeg det?

hvordan adv
VOH-dan how

Hvordan gør jeg det?

højden noun
HOY-thn the height
Gender
common

Du kan ændre højden.

jeg pron
yai I

Hvordan gør jeg det?

lav adj
LAE-ow low
Gender
common

Denne stol er for lav.

stol noun
STOHL chair
Gender
common

Denne stol er for lav.

ændre verb
EN-druh change

Du kan ændre højden.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

This chair is too low.

Show AnswerDenne stol er for lav.

You can change the height.

Show AnswerDu kan ændre højden.

How do I do that?

Show AnswerHvordan gør jeg det?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

chair

Show Answerstol

the height

Show Answerhøjden

change

Show Answerændre

this

Show Answerdenne