Borrowing cleaning supplies | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: In a shared space, two adults borrow a cloth and cleaning spray to clean a desk and put the supplies back..

EN → DA / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Borrowing cleaning supplies to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Har du en klud, jeg kan bruge?

hah doo en klooth, yai kan BROO-uh? Do you have a cleaning cloth I can use?
B

Der er en i kassen.

dair air en ee KAS-en. There is one in the box.
A

Har du også rengøringsspray?

hah doo AW-soh RAIN-gur-ings-spray? Do you have cleaning spray too?
B

Sprayen står ved siden af den.

SPRAY-en stohr vay SEE-den af den. The spray is beside it.
A

Jeg skal gøre dette skrivebord rent.

yai skal KUR-uh DES-duh SKREE-vuh-bor rent. I need to clean this desk.
B

Brug kun en lille smule.

broo koon en LEL-uh SMOO-luh. Use only a small amount.
A

Jeg vil tørre skrivebordet af og lægge begge dele tilbage.

yai vel TUR-uh SKREE-vuh-bor-duh af oh LEG-uh BEG-uh DAY-luh til-BAI-uh. I will wipe the desk and put both back.
B

Læg dem sammen i kassen.

lai dem SAM-en ee KAS-en. Keep them together in the box.

Word by Word

Har “Har” means “have” here and starts the question “Har du en klud, jeg kan bruge?” about whether someone has something. It is commonly used at the beginning of a question about possession, such as “Har du ...?”.
du “du” means “you” and is the person being asked in “Har du en klud, jeg kan bruge?”. It is the subject placed after “Har” in this direct question.
en “en” means “a” here in “en klud” and “one” in “Der er en i kassen”. It introduces one item, either by naming it or by referring to one already understood.
klud “klud” means “cloth” here, specifically the cloth being requested in “en klud, jeg kan bruge”. It is used after “en” to name the item.
jeg “jeg” means “I” and identifies the speaker in “jeg kan bruge”. It is used as the subject when the speaker describes their own action or ability.
kan “kan” means “can” here and expresses the speaker’s ability or possibility to use the cloth in “jeg kan bruge”. It is followed by the action in this pattern: “jeg kan” plus a verb.
bruge “bruge” means “use” in “jeg kan bruge”. It follows “kan” to say what the speaker is able or allowed to use, and the same pattern can be reused with another object.
Der “Der” introduces existence in “Der er en i kassen”, meaning that one is present. The reusable pattern “Der er” is used to say that something is somewhere or available.
er “er” means “is” or “are” here and completes “Der er”, which says that one item exists in the box. It is also used with a location phrase such as “er i kassen”.
i “i” means “in” and places the item inside the box in “i kassen”. It is used before a place or container to show where something is.
kassen “kassen” means “the box” in “i kassen”. Its citation form is “kasse”; “kassen” is the definite form used for the specific box.
også “også” means “also” or “too” in “Har du også rengøringsspray?”, adding cleaning spray to the item being asked about. It is placed before the added item in this question.
rengøringsspray “rengøringsspray” means “cleaning spray” and names the second cleaning supply in “Har du også rengøringsspray?”. It is used as the object of “Har du” when asking whether someone has this product.
Sprayen “Sprayen” means “the spray” and identifies the specific spray in “Sprayen står ved siden af den”. Its citation form is “spray”; “Sprayen” is the definite form used for the spray already being discussed.
står “står” means “stands” or “is located” here, saying where the spray is in “Sprayen står ved siden af den”. Its citation form is “stå”; this form is used to describe the spray’s location.
ved “ved” contributes the meaning “by” or “at” in the location phrase “ved siden af den”. It is used together with the following words to specify a position beside something.
siden “siden” means “the side” in “ved siden af den” and helps describe the spray’s position relative to the cloth. Its citation form is “side”; “siden” is the definite form used in this location phrase.
af “af” contributes “of” to the location expression “ved siden af den”. It connects “siden” with the thing that the spray is beside, rather than giving the whole location meaning by itself.
den “den” means “it” or “that one” here and refers to the cloth already mentioned in “Sprayen står ved siden af den”. It is used as the thing that gives the spray’s location a reference point.
skal “skal” means “need to” here and shows that cleaning the desk is the speaker’s required or intended action in “Jeg skal gøre dette skrivebord rent”. It is followed by the action verb in “Jeg skal gøre”.
gøre “gøre” contributes the meaning “make” or “do” in “gøre dette skrivebord rent”. Together with an object and a describing word, it expresses making the object clean; it follows “skal” here.
dette “dette” means “this” and points to the specific desk in “dette skrivebord”. It appears directly before the noun to identify which desk is meant.
skrivebord “skrivebord” means “desk” in “dette skrivebord”. It names the object that the speaker needs to make clean.
rent “rent” means “clean” and describes the result intended for the desk in “gøre dette skrivebord rent”. It follows the object in this construction to state the condition the object should have.
Brug “Brug” means “use” here and gives a direct instruction in “Brug kun en lille smule”. Its citation form is “bruge”; “Brug” is the command form used to tell someone what to do.
kun “kun” means “only” and limits the amount in “Brug kun en lille smule”. It is placed before the thing being limited, here “en lille smule”.
lille “lille” means “small” or “little” and describes the amount in “en lille smule”. It appears before “smule” to specify that only a small amount should be used.
smule “smule” means “amount” or “bit” in “en lille smule”. It names the amount, while “en lille” describes it; this expression is useful when requesting or describing a small quantity.
vil “vil” means “will” here and expresses the speaker’s intention in “Jeg vil tørre skrivebordet af og lægge begge dele tilbage”. It is followed by the actions the speaker plans to carry out.
tørre “tørre” means “wipe” in “tørre skrivebordet af”. It names the first action after “vil” and is used with the desk as the object.
skrivebordet “skrivebordet” means “the desk” and is the object being wiped in “tørre skrivebordet af”. Its citation form is “skrivebord”; “skrivebordet” is the definite form for the specific desk.
og “og” means “and” and joins the two planned actions in “tørre skrivebordet af og lægge begge dele tilbage”. It connects actions or other elements that belong together.
lægge “lægge” means “put” or “place” in “lægge begge dele tilbage”. It names the second action after “vil” and is used with an object and “tilbage” to express returning something.
begge “begge” means “both” and refers to the two supplies in “begge dele”. It is used before “dele” to show that the cloth and spray are included together.
dele “dele” means “items” or “parts” here and refers to the two supplies in “begge dele”. Its citation form is “del”; “dele” is the plural form used for the two things being put back.
tilbage “tilbage” means “back” in “lægge begge dele tilbage”. It shows that the items should be returned to their previous place, and it commonly follows an action of putting or bringing something back.
Læg “Læg” means “put” or “place” here and gives the instruction “Læg dem sammen i kassen”. Its citation form is “lægge”; “Læg” is the command form used at the start of the instruction.
dem “dem” means “them” and refers to the cloth and spray in “Læg dem sammen i kassen”. It is the object placed after the command “Læg”.
sammen “sammen” means “together” in “Læg dem sammen i kassen”. It indicates that the two items should be kept or placed as one group, rather than separately.

Grammar Points

Imperativ: Brug + objekt

Brug kun en lille smule.

broo koon en LEL-uh SMOO-luh.

Use only a little bit.

The imperative uses the verb stem without a subject: bruge becomes Brug.

Verb + adverbial particle

Tør skrivebordet af, og læg kluden tilbage.

TUR SKREE-vuh-bor-duh af, oh lai KLOO-then til-BAI-uh.

Wipe the desk, and put the cloth back.

In phrases like tørre af and lægge tilbage, the particle follows the object.

Danish Vocabulary

bruge verb
BROO-uh use

jeg kan bruge

dette det
DES-duh this
Gender
neuter

dette skrivebord

gøre rent phrase
KUR-uh rent clean gøre ... rent

gøre dette skrivebord rent

kasse noun
KAS-uh box kassen
Gender
common

i kassen

klud noun
klooth cleaning cloth
Gender
common

en klud

kun adv
koon only

Brug kun en lille smule.

lille adj
LEL-uh small

en lille smule

ren adj
rayn clean rent
Gender
neuter

gøre dette skrivebord rent

rengøringsspray noun
RAIN-gur-ings-spray cleaning spray

Har du også rengøringsspray?

skrivebord noun
SKREE-vuh-bor desk skrivebordet
Gender
neuter

skrivebordet

spray noun
spray spray Sprayen
Gender
common

Sprayen står ved siden af den.

ved siden af prep
vay SEE-den af beside; next to

ved siden af den

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

There is one in the box.

Show AnswerDer er en i kassen.

Do you have cleaning spray too?

Show AnswerHar du også rengøringsspray?

The spray is beside it.

Show AnswerSprayen står ved siden af den.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

use

Show Answerbruge

box

Show Answerkassen

desk

Show Answerskrivebordet

cleaning cloth

Show Answerklud