Waiting for your turn in line | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Waiting for your turn in line to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Er denne kø til skranken?

air DEN-uh kuh til SGRANG-un? Is this line for the counter?

Det er her, den starter.

deh air HAIR, den STAR-duh. This is where it starts.

Skal jeg have en billet?

sgel yai HEH-vuh uhn bih-LET? Do I need a ticket?

Tag en fra denne kasse.

TEH uhn frah DEN-uh KAS-uh. Take one from this box.

Hvornår er det min tur?

VOR-nor air deh meen TOO-uh? When is my turn?

Du står bag den person.

doo STOH beh den pair-SOHN. You're after that person.

Jeg venter her.

yai VEN-uh hair. I will wait here.

Personen foran er næsten færdig.

pair-SOH-nun for-RAHN air NES-dun FAIR-dee. The person ahead is almost finished.

Word by Word

Er In “Er denne kø til skranken?” “Er” asks whether something is or is not the case. It is the form used at the beginning of this yes-or-no question. A reusable pattern is “Er ...?” when checking information.

denne “denne” means “this” in “denne kø” and points to the line being discussed. It comes directly before the noun “kø” in this expression. Use “denne” before a noun when identifying something nearby or specific.

kø “kø” means a line or queue in “denne kø”. Together with “til skranken”, it identifies the line for the counter. A reusable pattern is “[something] i kø”, meaning in line.

til In “til skranken”, “til” links the line with the counter it is for. Here it has the meaning “for” or “to”, depending on the English phrasing. A reusable pattern is “til” followed by a place or destination.

skranken “skranken” means “the counter” in “til skranken”. The exact form is used for a specific counter at the service point. The citation form is “skranke”; “skranken” is the form used here with “the” meaning.

Det In “Det er her, den starter.” “Det” is the subject pronoun referring to the situation or place being clarified: “It is here.” It introduces the statement before “er her”. A reusable pattern is “Det er ...” when identifying or locating something.

her “her” means “here” in “Det er her, den starter.” It points to the place where the line begins. Use “her” to indicate the speaker’s current or demonstrated location.

den In “den starter”, “den” refers back to the line, “kø”. It is the pronoun for the thing that starts here. A reusable pattern is a pronoun such as “den” followed by the verb describing what that thing does.

starter “starter” means “starts” in “den starter”. It describes where the line begins. A reusable pattern is “[subject] starter” when saying that a queue, activity, or event begins.

Skal In “Skal jeg have en billet?” “Skal” expresses whether the speaker needs to or must have a ticket. It appears before “jeg” because this is a question. A reusable pattern is “Skal jeg ...?” when asking what is required.

jeg “jeg” means “I” in “Skal jeg have en billet?” and names the speaker as the person who may need a ticket. It comes after “Skal” in this question. Use “jeg” as the subject when talking about yourself.

have In “Skal jeg have en billet?”, “have” means “have” as part of asking whether the speaker needs a ticket. The construction is “Skal jeg have ...?” followed by the required object. Use this pattern to ask whether you need to have something.

en “en” means “a” in “en billet” and introduces one unspecified ticket. It comes directly before “billet”. Use “en” before a noun in this kind of singular expression.

billet “billet” means “ticket” in “en billet”. It is the item the speaker asks whether they need to have. A reusable pattern is “en billet” when referring to a ticket.

Tag “Tag” means “take” in “Tag en fra denne kasse.” It tells the other person to take one item from the box. The citation form is “tage”; “Tag” is the form used for this direct instruction.

fra In “fra denne kasse”, “fra” means “from” and marks the box as the place the item comes from. It is followed here by “denne kasse”. A reusable pattern is “tage ... fra ...” for taking something from a place or container.

kasse “kasse” means “box” in “denne kasse”. It names the container from which the ticket is taken. A reusable pattern is “denne kasse” when pointing to a particular box.

Hvornår “Hvornår” means “when” in “Hvornår er det min tur?” It asks at what time or point the speaker’s turn comes. Use it at the beginning of a question about timing.

min “min” means “my” in “min tur” and identifies the turn as belonging to the speaker. It comes directly before “tur”. Use “min” before a noun when saying that something belongs to or concerns you.

tur “tur” means “turn” in “min tur”. The expression “min tur” refers to the speaker’s place in the sequence of people waiting. A reusable pattern is “det er min tur” when it is your turn.

Du “Du” means “you” in “Du står bag den person.” It identifies the person being told where they are positioned in the line. Use “du” as the subject when speaking directly to one person.

står In “Du står bag den person”, “står” describes being positioned or standing behind someone in the line. It is not the word that means “after”; that meaning comes from the full line-position expression. A reusable pattern is “[person] står [place or position]” to describe where someone is.

bag In “bag den person”, “bag” means “behind” and describes the position in the line. With “den person”, it tells the listener who they are behind. A reusable pattern is “stå bag ...” for saying that someone is behind another person.

person “person” means “person” in “den person”. It identifies the individual who is ahead of the listener in the line. The reusable expression “den person” points to a particular person.

venter In “Jeg venter her”, “venter” means “wait” or “am waiting”. It describes staying in the current place until the turn comes. A reusable pattern is “Jeg venter” followed by a place, such as “Jeg venter her”.

Personen “Personen” means “the person” in “Personen foran”. It refers to a specific person who is ahead in the line. The citation form is “person”; “Personen” is the form used here with the meaning “the person”.

foran In “Personen foran”, “foran” means “ahead” or “in front”. It identifies the person positioned before the speaker in the line. A reusable pattern is “[person] foran” when describing who is in front.

næsten “næsten” means “almost” in “næsten færdig”. It shows that the person is very close to being finished but is not finished yet. Use “næsten” before an adjective or description to express that something is nearly in that state.

færdig “færdig” means “finished” in “Personen foran er næsten færdig.” It describes the person ahead as nearly done with their business at the counter. A reusable pattern is “er færdig” for saying that someone or something is finished.

Grammar Points

Imperativ: tage → Tag

Tag

TEH

Take!

The imperative is often the verb stem without an ending: tage becomes Tag.

Bestemt ental med endelsen -en: skranke → skranken

skranken

SGRANG-un

the counter

Many common-gender nouns form the definite singular with -en: skranke becomes skranken.

Danish Vocabulary

bag prep

BEH behind, after

billet noun

bih-LET ticket

Gender: common

have verb

HEH-vuh have

hvornår adv

VOR-nor when

kasse noun

KAS-uh box

Gender: common

kø noun

KUR line, queue

Gender: common

denne kø

person noun

pair-SOHN person Personen

Gender: common

skranke noun

SGRANG-uh counter skranken

Gender: common

starte verb

STAR-duh start starter

stå verb

STOH stand står

tage verb

TEH-uh take Tag

tur noun

TOO-uh turn

Gender: common

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Is this line for the counter?

Show Answer

Er denne kø til skranken?

This is where it starts.

Show Answer

Det er her, den starter.

Do I need a ticket?

Show Answer

Skal jeg have en billet?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

box

Show Answer

kasse

ticket

Show Answer

billet

have

Show Answer

have

counter

Show Answer

skranken