Holding a place in line | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Holding a place in line to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Kan du holde min plads i et minut?

kan doo HOL-luh meen PLAHS ee eth mee-NOOT? Can you save my place for a minute?

Jeg kan holde din plads, mens du er væk.

yai kan HOL-luh deen PLAHS, mens doo air VEK. I can hold your spot while you are away.

Jeg glemte min pung.

yai GLEM-tuh meen PONG. I left my wallet behind.

Prøv at komme tilbage snart.

PRURV at KOM-muh teh-LEH-buh SNART. Try to come back soon.

Jeg henter den nu.

yai HEN-tuh den NOO. I will grab it now.

Jeg bliver her i køen.

yai BLEE-vuh hair ee KUR-uhn. I will stay here in line.

Jeg fandt den og kom straks tilbage.

yai FANT den oh kom straks teh-LEH-buh. I found it and came right back.

Du kan gå ind i køen igen.

doo kan goh en ee KUR-uhn ee-GEN. You can step back in here.

Word by Word

Kan “Kan” means “can” here and asks whether the other person is able to help. It is used before an infinitive in “Kan du holde”; a useful request pattern is “Kan du” followed by an action.

du “du” means “you” and refers to the person being asked. It comes after “Kan” in the question “Kan du holde”; use “du” for the person you are addressing in a direct request.

holde “holde” means “hold” or “keep” in “holde min plads”, referring to keeping someone’s place in the line. It is the infinitive after “Kan”; “holde” can be used with an object such as “min plads”.

min “min” means “my” and identifies the place as belonging to the speaker in “min plads”. It comes before the noun it describes; the reusable pattern here is “min” plus a possession such as “min plads”.

plads “plads” means “place” or “spot” here, specifically the speaker’s position in the line. It follows “min” in “min plads”; use it when referring to a place someone occupies or keeps.

i “i” means “for” in the time expression “i et minut”, not a location. With a duration, it introduces how long something lasts; “i et minut” is a reusable time pattern.

et “et” means “a” in “et minut” and introduces the noun “minut”. It is part of the time expression “i et minut”; use it before this noun when referring to one minute without specifying which minute.

minut “minut” means “minute” in “i et minut”. It names the duration for which the place should be kept; it can follow a time expression such as “i et minut”.

Jeg “Jeg” means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person who can help or act. It begins statements such as “Jeg kan holde” and “Jeg henter den nu”; use it before an action done by the speaker.

din “din” means “your” and identifies the place as belonging to the person who has left. It comes before the noun in “din plads”; the reusable pattern is “din” plus the thing belonging to the person addressed.

mens “mens” means “while” and introduces the time during which the other person is away in “mens du er væk”. It connects two clauses; use “mens” before an event or situation happening at the same time.

er “er” means “is” or “are” in “du er væk”, describing the person’s state of being away. It is the present form of “være” used with “du”; the pattern “du er” introduces a description or state.

væk “væk” means “away” in “du er væk”, meaning that the person is not present at the line. It follows “er” in this expression; “er væk” is a reusable way to describe someone being away.

glemte “glemte” means “forgot” in “Jeg glemte min pung”. It is the past form of “glemme” and is used here for the wallet the speaker left behind; the pattern is “glemte” followed by the forgotten object.

pung “pung” means “wallet” in “min pung”. It is the object that the speaker forgot; use it after a possessive such as “min” when identifying whose wallet it is.

Prøv “Prøv” means “try” and gives a brief instruction in “Prøv at komme tilbage snart”. It is used before “at” plus an infinitive; this pattern lets someone suggest or ask another person to try an action.

at “at” marks the infinitive in “at komme tilbage”, giving the meaning “to come back”. It comes directly before the infinitive “komme”; use “at” in the pattern “Prøv at” followed by an action.

komme “komme” means “come” in “komme tilbage”, referring to returning to the line. It is the infinitive after “at”; the reusable pattern “komme tilbage” means to come back.

tilbage “tilbage” means “back” in “komme tilbage”, describing movement to the previous place. It follows “komme” in this expression; use “tilbage” to indicate a return.

snart “snart” means “soon” and asks for the return to happen after a short time in “komme tilbage snart”. It gives a time indication; it can be placed with an action when saying that it should happen soon.

henter “henter” means “gets” or “fetches” in “Jeg henter den nu”, referring to going to get the wallet. It is the present form of “hente” and is used before the object “den”; the pattern is “Jeg henter” plus the thing being fetched.

den “den” means “it” here and refers back to the wallet, “min pung”. It is the object in “Jeg henter den nu” and “Jeg fandt den”; use “den” to refer back to this already-mentioned item.

nu “nu” means “now” and shows that the speaker will fetch the wallet immediately in “Jeg henter den nu”. It gives the timing of the action; place it with an action to say that it is happening now.

bliver “bliver” means “stays” in “Jeg bliver her i køen”, explaining that the other person will remain at the line. It is the present form of “blive”; the pattern “Jeg bliver her” states that the speaker will remain in the current place.

her “her” means “here” and refers to the speaker’s current location in “Jeg bliver her i køen”. It follows “bliver” to identify where the person remains; use “her” for the place where the speaker is.

køen “køen” means “the line” or “the queue” in “i køen”. It is the definite form used for the particular line in this scene; the reusable expression is “i køen” for being in the line.

fandt “fandt” means “found” in “Jeg fandt den”, referring to finding the wallet. It is the past form of “finde” and is followed by the object “den”; use the pattern “Jeg fandt” plus the thing that was located.

og “og” means “and” and links the two completed actions in “Jeg fandt den og kom straks tilbage”. It joins actions or statements; here it connects finding the wallet with returning.

kom “kom” means “came” in “kom straks tilbage”, referring to the speaker’s return to the line. It is the past form of “komme” and is combined with “tilbage” to show returning; the pattern is “kom” plus a return expression such as “kom straks tilbage”.

straks “straks” means “right away” or “immediately” in “kom straks tilbage”. It emphasizes that the speaker returned without delay; use it with an action when describing something done immediately.

gå “gå” means “go” or “walk” in “gå ind i køen igen”, describing re-entering the line. It is the infinitive after “kan”; the pattern “kan gå” is followed here by a direction and destination.

ind “ind” means “in” and shows movement into the line in “gå ind i køen igen”. It follows “gå” to express inward movement; use it in a pattern such as “gå ind i” followed by a place.

igen “igen” means “again” in “gå ind i køen igen”, indicating a return to the line. It marks repetition or a return to a previous situation; here it completes the instruction to go back into the queue.

Grammar Points

Prøv at + infinitiv

Prøv at komme tilbage snart.

PRURV at KOM-muh teh-LEH-buh SNART.

Try to come back soon.

After the imperative Prøv, Danish uses at before the infinitive: Prøv at komme.

kø + -en

i køen

ee KUR-uhn

in the line

The ending -en marks a common-gender noun as definite: køen means “the queue”.

Danish Vocabulary

din det

deen your

Gender: common

Jeg kan holde din plads, mens du er væk.

er verb

air are; am; is

Mens du er væk.

glemte verb

GLEM-tuh forgot

Jeg glemte min pung.

holde verb

HOL-luh hold; keep

Kan du holde min plads i et minut?

komme verb

KOM-muh come

Prøv at komme tilbage snart.

mens conj

mens while

Jeg kan holde din plads, mens du er væk.

min det

meen my

Gender: common

Kan du holde min plads i et minut?

plads noun

PLAHS place; spot

Gender: common

Kan du holde min plads i et minut?

Prøv verb

PRURV try

Prøv at komme tilbage snart.

pung noun

PONG wallet

Gender: common

Jeg glemte min pung.

tilbage adv

teh-LEH-buh back

Prøv at komme tilbage snart.

væk adv

VEK away; gone

Mens du er væk.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I left my wallet behind.

Show Answer

Jeg glemte min pung.

Try to come back soon.

Show Answer

Prøv at komme tilbage snart.

I will grab it now.

Show Answer

Jeg henter den nu.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

while

Show Answer

mens

hold; keep

Show Answer

holde

place; spot

Show Answer

plads

wallet

Show Answer

pung