Reporting a lost travel card | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: After losing a travel card on a train, two adults discuss going to lost property and blocking the card..

EN → DA / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Reporting a lost travel card to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Jeg tror, jeg har mistet mit rejsekort i toget.

yai TROHR, yai har MES-duh mit RAI-suh-kohd ee TOH-yuh. I think I lost my travel card on the train.
B

Du bør gå til hittegodskontoret.

doo BURR goh teel HED-uh-gos-kon-toh-uh. You should go to the lost property office.
A

Kan de spærre kortet?

kan dee SPARE-uh KOH-duh? Can they stop the card from being used?
B

De kan hjælpe dig med at udfylde en formular for at spærre det.

dee kan YELP-uh dai meh aht OOD-FILL-uh un for-MAH-lah foh aht SPARE-uh deh. They can help you fill out a form to block it.
A

Jeg har mine kontooplysninger med mig.

yai har MEE-nuh KON-toh-up-LOOS-ning-uh meh mai. I have my account details with me.
B

De oplysninger vil hjælpe personalet.

dee ohp-LOOS-ning-uh vil YELP-uh per-soh-NAI-luh. That information will help the staff.
A

Så spørger jeg, om jeg skal få et nyt kort.

soh SPURR-uh yai, om yai skal foh ed NYOOT KOHd. Then I'll ask whether I should get a new card.
B

Spørg først, fordi nogen måske har afleveret det.

SPURR furst, foh-DEE, NOH-un MOS-guh har af-LAY-vuhd deh. Ask first, because someone might have handed it in.

Word by Word

Jeg “Jeg” means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person describing the situation. It comes before the verb in “Jeg tror” and “Jeg har”, for example when reporting your own problem.
tror “tror” means “think” or “believe” in “Jeg tror”, showing that the speaker is not completely certain. It commonly introduces a following clause, as in “Jeg tror, jeg har mistet mit rejsekort” when making a tentative report.
har “har” is the auxiliary in “jeg har mistet”, describing a completed loss. The same form also means “have” in “Jeg har mine kontooplysninger med mig”, so it can introduce either a completed-action phrase or possession.
mistet “mistet” means “lost” in “har mistet” and is the completed-action form of “miste”. It combines with “har” in “jeg har mistet mit rejsekort” when reporting that something has been lost.
mit “mit” means “my” before “rejsekort” in “mit rejsekort”. This possessive form is used here to identify the travel card as belonging to the speaker.
rejsekort “rejsekort” means “travel card” in “mit rejsekort”. It is the item that the speaker thinks they lost, so it can be used after a possessive such as “mit” when identifying a personal travel card.
i “i” means “in” or “on” in “i toget”, describing the train as the place where the card may have been lost. It is used here to mark the location of an event or object.
toget “toget” means “the train” and is the definite form of “tog”. After “i”, the phrase “i toget” identifies the particular train connected with the loss.
Du “Du” means “you” and addresses the other person directly. It comes before “bør” in “Du bør gå”, a useful pattern for giving one person advice.
bør “bør” means “should” and gives advice in “Du bør gå til hittegodskontoret”. It is followed by the infinitive “gå” when recommending an action.
gå “gå” means “go” in “gå til hittegodskontoret”. After “bør”, it describes the action being recommended and is followed by the destination introduced by “til”.
til “til” means “to” and marks the destination in “til hittegodskontoret”. It is used before a place when saying where someone should go.
hittegodskontoret “hittegodskontoret” means “the lost property office” in “til hittegodskontoret”. The definite form identifies the specific office where the speaker should report or search for the lost card.
Kan “Kan” means “can” at the beginning of “Kan de spærre kortet?” and asks whether the people concerned have the ability to block the card. It is placed before the subject in this question.
de In “Kan de spærre kortet?”, “de” means “they” and refers to the staff at the lost property office. At the start of “De oplysninger”, the same spelling means “those” and points to particular details.
spærre “spærre” means “block” in “spærre kortet”, meaning to prevent the card from being used. It appears after the modal verb “kan” and also after “for at” in “for at spærre det”.
kortet “kortet” means “the card” and is the definite form used as the object in “spærre kortet”. It refers to the already-mentioned travel card that may need to be blocked.
hjælpe “hjælpe” means “help” in “hjælpe dig med at udfylde en formular”. It follows “kan” and takes the person receiving help before the construction “med at udfylde”.
dig “dig” means “you” as the person receiving help in “hjælpe dig”. It is the object form used after the verb “hjælpe” when addressing one person.
med “med” means “with” in “hjælpe dig med at udfylde en formular”. Together, “hjælpe dig med at udfylde” describes helping someone with the activity of filling out a form.
at “at” marks the infinitive in “at udfylde”, meaning “to fill out”. It follows “med” in “hjælpe dig med at udfylde en formular” to introduce the activity being helped with.
udfylde “udfylde” means “fill out” in “at udfylde en formular”. It is the infinitive after “at” and takes “en formular” as the thing being completed.
en “en” means “a” before “formular” in “en formular”. It introduces one non-specific form, which is the document the person needs to fill out.
formular “formular” means “form” and is the object of “udfylde” in “udfylde en formular”. This word is useful when referring to a document that someone must complete with information.
for In “for at spærre det”, “for” helps introduce the purpose of the action. The whole phrase means “in order to block it”, and it is used before an intended action.
det “det” means “it” in “spærre det” and refers back to the card. It is used as the object of “spærre” so the speaker does not need to repeat “kortet”.
mine “mine” means “my” before the plural noun “kontooplysninger” in “mine kontooplysninger”. This form identifies several account details as belonging to the speaker.
kontooplysninger “kontooplysninger” means “account details” in “mine kontooplysninger”. It names the information the speaker has available to help the staff identify or handle the lost card.
mig “mig” means “me” in “med mig”, describing the speaker as the person carrying the account details. It follows “med” in this expression for saying that something is with you.
oplysninger “oplysninger” means “information” or “details” in “De oplysninger”. Here it refers to the particular details that will help the staff, and it can also appear in the compound “kontooplysninger”.
vil “vil” means “will” in “vil hjælpe personalet” and points to a future result. It is followed by the infinitive “hjælpe” when saying what the information will do.
personalet “personalet” means “the staff” and is the group that the information will help in “vil hjælpe personalet”. The definite form refers to the relevant staff at the office.
Så “Så” means “then” and connects the information just given with the speaker’s next step in “Så spørger jeg”. It is useful for showing a consequence or sequence of actions.
spørger “spørger” means “ask” in “spørger jeg, om jeg skal få et nyt kort”. It introduces a question about what to do, with “om” starting the indirect question.
om “om” means “whether” in “om jeg skal få et nyt kort”. It introduces an indirect yes-or-no question after “spørger”, here about getting a replacement card.
skal “skal” means “should” or “be supposed to” in “om jeg skal få et nyt kort”. It is followed by the infinitive “få” when asking whether the speaker should receive a new card.
få “få” means “get” or “receive” in “få et nyt kort”. It follows “skal” and takes “et nyt kort” as the thing the speaker may receive.
et “et” means “a” before “kort” in “et nyt kort”. It introduces one non-specific new card.
nyt “nyt” means “new” in “et nyt kort”. This form is used with the noun “kort” in the phrase for a replacement card.
kort “kort” means “card” in “et nyt kort”, referring to a possible replacement card. Unlike “kortet”, it appears here as an indefinite card after “et nyt”.
Spørg “Spørg” means “ask” as a direct instruction in “Spørg først”. This imperative is used when telling someone to make an inquiry before taking the next action.
først “først” means “first” in “Spørg først” and puts asking before the other possible steps. It is useful for ordering actions in a process.
fordi “fordi” means “because” and introduces the reason in “fordi nogen måske har afleveret det”. It connects the instruction to the possible explanation for asking first.
nogen “nogen” means “someone” in “nogen måske har afleveret det”. It refers to an unspecified person who may have handed in the card.
måske “måske” means “maybe” and signals uncertainty in “nogen måske har afleveret det”. It is useful when suggesting a possibility without claiming that it is definitely true.
afleveret “afleveret” means “handed in” in “har afleveret det” and is the completed-action form of “aflevere”. Together with “har”, it describes the possibility that someone has already handed in the card.

Grammar Points

Bestemt form med endelse

toget, hittegodskontoret, kortet, personalet

TOH-yuh, HED-uh-gos-kon-toh-uh, KOH-duh, per-soh-NAI-luh

the train, the lost property office, the card, the staff

Dansk viser ofte bestemthed ved at føje en endelse til substantivet i stedet for at bruge et separat ord som “the”.

Nutidsendelsen -r

tror, spørger

TROHR, SPURR-uh

think, ask

Mange danske verber får endelsen -r i nutid: tro bliver til tror, og spørge bliver til spørger.

Danish Vocabulary

formular noun
foh-MAH-lah form
Gender
common

De kan hjælpe dig med at udfylde en formular for at spærre det.

gå verb
GOH go

Du bør gå til hittegodskontoret.

hittegodskontor noun
HED-uh-gos-kon-TOHR lost property office hittegodskontoret
Gender
neuter

Du bør gå til hittegodskontoret.

hjælpe verb
YELP-uh help

De kan hjælpe dig med at udfylde en formular for at spærre det.

kontooplysninger noun
KON-toh-up-LOOS-ning-uh account details

Jeg har mine kontooplysninger med mig.

kort noun
KOHd card kortet
Gender
neuter

Kan de spærre kortet?

miste verb
MES-duh lose mistet

Jeg tror, jeg har mistet mit rejsekort i toget.

rejsekort noun
RAI-suh-kohd travel card
Gender
neuter

Jeg tror, jeg har mistet mit rejsekort i toget.

spærre verb
SPARE-uh block; stop from being used

Kan de spærre kortet?

tog noun
TOH train toget
Gender
neuter

Jeg tror, jeg har mistet mit rejsekort i toget.

tro verb
TROHR think tror

Jeg tror, jeg har mistet mit rejsekort i toget.

udfylde verb
OOD-FILL-uh fill out

De kan hjælpe dig med at udfylde en formular for at spærre det.

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

You should go to the lost property office.

Show AnswerDu bør gå til hittegodskontoret.

Can they stop the card from being used?

Show AnswerKan de spærre kortet?

I have my account details with me.

Show AnswerJeg har mine kontooplysninger med mig.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

train

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lose

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block; stop from being used

Show Answerspærre

card

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