Asking for a study room | Learn Danish in English

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Use Asking for a study room to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Er der et ledigt studierum?

air dair et LAY-thee stoo-THEE-uh-room? Is a study room available?

Der er et ledigt nu.

dair air et LAY-thee noo. One is open now.

Må jeg læse derinde?

moh yai LAY-suh DAIR-eh-nuh? Can I read in there?

Du kan bruge det til at læse og lukke døren.

doo kan BROO-uh deh tehl uh LAY-suh oh LOH-guh DOH-en. You can use it for reading and close the door.

Bliver der stille derinde?

BLEE-uh dair STEL-uh DAIR-eh-nuh? Will it stay quiet?

Væggene holder det meste af støjen ude.

VEG-uh-nuh HULL-uh deh MES-tuh uh STOY-en OO-theh. The walls block most of the noise.

Det her rum passer mig.

deh hair ROHM PAS-uh my. This room works for me.

Efterlad det rent til andre.

EF-tuh-LAYTH deh REHN tehl AN-druh. Please leave it clean for other people.

Word by Word

Er Er means “is” in the question Er der et ledigt studierum? It is the present form of være and is used here with the existential expression Er der ...? to ask whether something is available. A reliable reuse pattern is Er der ...? when asking whether something exists or is available.

der Der is the existential placeholder in Er der et ledigt studierum? and Der er et ledigt nu., helping introduce what is or is not available. In the pattern Der er ..., it does not refer to a specific place. Use Der er ... to say that something is present or available.

et Et means “a” in et ledigt studierum and represents “one” in et ledigt nu., where the room noun is omitted. Before studierum, it is the indefinite article used with this neuter noun, and ledigt has the matching form. A reliable reuse pattern is et + an available neuter noun.

ledigt Ledigt means “available” or “free” in et ledigt studierum and et ledigt nu. It is the neuter form of ledig, matching the neuter noun studierum or the omitted room understood in the reply. Use it before a neuter noun when describing something that is available.

studierum Studierum means “study room” in et ledigt studierum, the room being asked about in the library. It is a compound noun referring to a room intended for studying or quiet reading. Use studierum after a determiner or adjective when naming this type of room.

Må Må means “may” or “am I allowed to” in Må jeg læse derinde? It is the present form of måtte and is used here to ask for permission. A reliable reuse pattern is Må jeg + verb? when politely asking whether you may do something.

jeg Jeg means “I” in Må jeg læse derinde? and is the subject of the question. It is the subject form used for the person asking permission. Use jeg before the verb when saying what you do or asking what you may do.

læse Læse means “read” in Må jeg læse derinde? and til at læse. It is the infinitive form after the modal Må and after at. A reliable reuse pattern is læse + an object when saying what you read, or Må jeg læse ...? when asking permission to read.

derinde Derinde means “in there” in Må jeg læse derinde? and Bliver der stille derinde? It points to the inside of the study room already mentioned. Use derinde when referring to an interior place that is understood from the conversation.

Du Du means “you” in Du kan bruge det til at læse og lukke døren. It is the subject addressing the person asking about the room. Use du before the verb when giving information or instructions to one person.

kan Kan means “can” or “are able to” in Du kan bruge det ... It is the present form of kunne and expresses permission or possibility here. A reliable reuse pattern is kan + infinitive, as in kan bruge.

bruge Bruge means “use” in Du kan bruge det til at læse og lukke døren. It is the infinitive after kan and takes det as the thing being used. Use bruge det til at ... when saying what something can be used for.

det Det means “it” in Du kan bruge det ... and Efterlad det rent ... In the first line it refers to the study room, and in the second it is the thing that should be left clean. Use det for this neuter referent when referring back to the room.

til Til means “for” in til at læse and introduces the purpose of using the room. Together with at and læse, til at læse means “for reading” or “to read”; the purpose comes from the whole construction. A reliable reuse pattern is til at + verb for a purpose.

at At is the infinitive marker in til at læse. It introduces læse after til, and the coordinated verb lukke is understood within the same purpose construction. Use at before an infinitive when introducing an action such as at læse.

og Og means “and” in læse og lukke døren. It joins the two actions that the person may carry out in the room. Use og to connect two verbs, objects, or other equivalent parts of a sentence.

lukke Lukke means “close” in lukke døren. It is the action coordinated with læse in the instruction about using the room and closing its door. A reliable reuse pattern is lukke + a door or other object that is being closed.

døren Døren means “the door” in lukke døren. It is the definite form of dør and identifies the specific door of the study room. Use the definite form when the listener can identify which door is meant.

Bliver Bliver asks whether the room will become or remain quiet in Bliver der stille derinde? It is the present form of blive, which here describes a change or continuation into a quiet state rather than naming a simple location. A reliable reuse pattern is Bliver der ...? when asking whether a state will arise or continue.

stille Stille means “quiet” in Bliver der stille derinde? and describes the state expected inside the room. It is used with blive to ask about the room becoming or staying quiet. Use blive stille when referring to becoming quiet.

Væggene Væggene means “the walls” in Væggene holder det meste af støjen ude. It is the definite plural form of væg and refers to the walls of the room. Use the definite form when the walls are identifiable from the setting.

holder Holder means “keeps” in holder det meste af støjen ude. It is the present form of holde, and together with ude it expresses blocking something from entering: holder ... ude. A reliable reuse pattern is holde + something + ude when saying that something is kept out.

meste Meste means “most” or “the greatest part” in det meste af støjen. The complete phrase det meste af støjen identifies the largest part of the noise that the walls block. Use det meste af + a noun when referring to most of something.

af Af means “of” in det meste af støjen and connects meste with the thing being measured. In the pattern det meste af støjen, it introduces what most refers to. Use af after expressions such as det meste af when specifying the relevant part of something.

støjen Støjen means “the noise” in det meste af støjen. It is the definite form of støj and identifies the noise coming from outside the room. Use the definite form when the noise is understood from the situation.

ude Ude means “out” or “away” in holder det meste af støjen ude. It completes holder ... ude and shows that the noise is kept outside the room. Use ude with holde ... ude when describing something being blocked from entering.

her Her contributes the meaning “this” in Det her rum. Together with det, it points to the particular room being considered, rather than simply saying “here.” A reliable reuse pattern is det her + noun when identifying a nearby or currently discussed thing.

rum Rum means “room” in Det her rum and refers to the study room under discussion. It is the noun identified by det her. Use rum after a determiner or adjective when naming a room.

passer Passer means “suits” or “works for” in Det her rum passer mig. It is the present form of passe and says that the room meets the speaker’s needs. A reliable reuse pattern is something + passer mig when saying that something suits me.

mig Mig means “me” in Det her rum passer mig. It is the object form referring to the person whose needs the room suits; the subject form is jeg. Use mig after verbs or prepositions when I am the person affected.

Efterlad Efterlad means “leave” in the instruction Efterlad det rent til andre. It is the imperative form of efterlade and asks the listener to leave the room in a clean condition. Use Efterlad + object + description when giving an instruction about the condition in which something should be left.

rent Rent means “clean” in Efterlad det rent til andre. It describes the condition in which det, referring to the room, should be left, and it is the neuter form of ren. Use leave-object patterns with rent when asking someone to keep a neuter thing clean.

andre Andre means “other people” or “others” in Efterlad det rent til andre. It identifies the people who will use the room after the current speaker. A reliable reuse pattern is til andre when referring to something intended or left for other people.

Grammar Points

døren

døren

DOH-en

the door

The ending -en marks a common-gender noun as definite, meaning “the door.”

Danish Vocabulary

bruge verb

BROO-uh use

kan bruge det

der adv

dair there; there is/are

Er der et ledigt studierum?

derinde adv

DAIR-eh-nuh in there

læse derinde

døren noun

DOH-en the door

Gender: common

lukke døren

holder verb

HULL-uh keeps; holds

Væggene holder det meste af støjen ude

ledigt adj

LAY-thee available; vacant

Gender: neuter

et ledigt studierum

lukke verb

LOH-guh close; shut

lukke døren

læse verb

LAY-suh read

Må jeg læse derinde?

meste pron

MES-tuh most

det meste af støjen

stille adj

STEL-uh quiet

Bliver der stille derinde?

studierum noun

stoo-THEE-uh-room study room

Gender: neuter

et ledigt studierum

væggene noun

VEG-uh-nuh the walls

Gender: common

Væggene holder støjen ude

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Is a study room available?

Show Answer

Er der et ledigt studierum?

One is open now.

Show Answer

Der er et ledigt nu.

Can I read in there?

Show Answer

Må jeg læse derinde?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

available; vacant

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ledigt

use

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bruge

close; shut

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lukke

read

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læse