Practising a role-play together | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: In a language classroom, two adults practice a role-play together and agree how to pause, repeat lines, and correct mistakes..

EN → DA / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Practising a role-play together to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Kan vi øve dette rollespil sammen?

KAHN vee UH-vuh DEH-duh ROH-luh-speel SAM-uhn? Can we practice this role-play together?
B

Jeg kan tage den anden rolle.

YAI KAHN TAY-uh den AN-uhn ROL-uh. I can take the other role.
A

Hold en pause efter hvert spørgsmål, tak.

HOHL en POW-suh EF-duh vert SPUR-smawl, TAHK. Please pause after each question.
B

Så får du tid til at svare naturligt.

SOH FAWR doo TEED teel uh SVAIR-uh nah-TOO-lee. That will give you time to answer naturally.
A

Hvis jeg laver en fejl, så gentag replikken, tak.

VES YAI LAY-ver en FYLE, soh gen-TAHG reh-PLEE-gun, TAHK. If I make a mistake, please repeat the line.
B

Jeg vil sige det langsomt og vise dig én vigtig rettelse.

YAI vil SEE-uh deh LANG-somd oh VEE-suh dai AYN VIG-tee reh-DEL-suh. I will say it slowly and point out one important correction.
A

Det hjælper mig med at føle mig mindre nervøs.

Deh YEL-per mai meh uh FUH-luh mai MEN-ruh ner-VURSS. That helps me feel less nervous.
B

Begynd med denne scene.

buh-GUN meh DEN-uh SAY-nuh. Start with this scene.
B

Jeg vil følge dit tempo.

YAI vil FUR-luh deet TEM-poh. I will follow your pace.

Word by Word

Kan “Kan” means “can” here and asks whether the speakers are able or willing to practise together. The same form is used before an infinitive, as in the new example “Kan du hjælpe?”.
vi “vi” means “we,” referring to the two people practising together. It is used as the subject before the verb, as in the new example “Vi øver dansk.”
øve “øve” means “practise” in “øve dette rollespil.” It is the infinitive used after “Kan,” and a common pattern is “øve [something],” as in the new example “øve en samtale.”
dette “dette” means “this” and points to the specific role-play the speakers are about to practise. It is used directly before the neuter noun “rollespil,” as in the new example “dette kursus.”
rollespil “rollespil” means “role-play,” the activity the two people will practise. It can be used after “øve” to name what is being practised, as in the new example “øve et rollespil.”
sammen “sammen” means “together” and shows that the two speakers will do the role-play with each other. It commonly appears after an activity or verb, as in the new example “Vi arbejder sammen.”
Jeg “Jeg” means “I” and is the speaker referring to themself. The capital letter is used because it begins the sentence; inside a sentence, the same pronoun is “jeg,” as in the new example “Nu kan jeg begynde.”
tage “tage” means “take” in “tage den anden rolle,” meaning to perform or assume that role. It is the infinitive after “kan”; a common pattern is “tage [en rolle],” as in the new example “tage lærerens rolle.”
den “den” means “the” in “den anden rolle” and identifies a particular role. It is used before the adjective and noun here, as in the new example “den første scene.”
anden “anden” means “other” here and distinguishes one role from the role the other person will take. It appears before the noun “rolle,” as in the new example “den anden mulighed.”
rolle “rolle” means “role,” specifically the part a person performs in the role-play. It can follow “tage” when talking about assuming a part, as in the new example “tage en rolle.”
Hold “Hold” means “pause” or “stop briefly” in the request “Hold en pause.” It is the imperative form used to give a polite instruction, and a common pattern is “Hold en pause efter …”.
en “en” means “a” in “en pause,” introducing one unspecified pause. It is the indefinite article used before “pause,” as in the new example “en kort pause.”
pause “pause” means “pause,” the short break requested after each question. It commonly appears with “holde,” as in “Hold en pause,” and can also name a break in a lesson.
efter “efter” means “after” and places the pause after each question. It is followed here by the noun phrase “hvert spørgsmål,” as in the new example “efter timen.”
hvert “hvert” means “each” or “every” and refers to the questions one by one. It is used before the singular neuter noun “spørgsmål,” as in the new example “hvert svar.”
spørgsmål “spørgsmål” means “question,” referring to each question in the role-play. It can be used after “hvert” to discuss questions individually, as in the new example “et vigtigt spørgsmål.”
tak “tak” means “please” at the end of this request and softens the instruction. It is also commonly used to mean “thanks,” but here it functions as a polite request marker.
“Så” means “then” in “Så får du tid …,” linking the pause to its result. At the start of a sentence it can introduce a consequence, as in the new example “Så begynder vi.”
får “får” means “get” here: the pause gives the listener time to answer naturally. It is used with the object “tid,” as in the new example “Du får en chance.”
du “du” means “you,” referring to the partner who will answer. It is the subject of “får,” as in the new example “Du får tid.”
tid “tid” means “time,” specifically enough time to formulate an answer. It appears in the useful pattern “få tid til at …,” as in the new example “få tid til at læse.”
til “til” means “for” in “tid til at svare” and identifies what the time is for. The pattern “tid til at” is followed by an infinitive, as in the new example “tid til at tænke.”
at “at” marks the infinitive “svare” in “til at svare.” It commonly follows “til” when stating the purpose or activity for which something is available, as in the new example “mulighed for at øve.”
svare “svare” means “answer” in “at svare naturligt.” It is the infinitive after “at,” and a common pattern is “svare på [something],” as in the new example “svare på et spørgsmål.”
naturligt “naturligt” means “naturally,” describing the desired way of answering. It modifies the action “svare,” as in the new example “tale naturligt.”
Hvis “Hvis” means “if” and introduces the condition that the speaker makes a mistake. It begins a conditional clause, as in the new example “Hvis du har tid, kan vi øve.”
laver “laver” means “make” in the expression “laver en fejl,” which means “make a mistake.” The reusable pattern is “lave en fejl”; here the exact dialogue form is “laver” after “jeg.”
fejl “fejl” means “mistake” in the fixed expression “laver en fejl.” It commonly appears with “lave” when someone makes an error, as in the new example “Jeg lavede en fejl.”
gentag “gentag” means “repeat” and asks the partner to say the line again. It is the imperative form of “gentage”; a common instruction is “Gentag replikken.”
replikken “replikken” means “the line,” referring to the spoken line in the role-play. It is the definite form of “replik,” and the definite ending shows that a specific line is meant.
vil “vil” expresses “will” here and introduces the speaker’s promised action. It is followed by the infinitives “sige” and “vise,” as in the new example “Jeg vil øve.”
sige “sige” means “say” in “sige det langsomt.” It is an infinitive after “vil,” and a common pattern is “sige [something],” as in the new example “sige et ord.”
det “det” means “it” here and refers back to the line that will be repeated. It is the object of “sige,” as in the new example “Jeg vil sige det igen.”
langsomt “langsomt” means “slowly” and describes how the speaker will say the line. It modifies “sige,” as in the new example “Læs det langsomt.”
og “og” means “and” and joins the two promised actions “sige” and “vise.” It can connect two verbs or other elements, as in the new example “lytte og svare.”
vise “vise” means “show” or “point out” in “vise dig én vigtig rettelse,” referring to making a correction clear to the partner. It is an infinitive after “vil”; a common pattern is “vise nogen noget,” as in the new example “vise dig et eksempel.”
dig “dig” means “you” in “vise dig,” identifying the person who will receive the correction. It follows “vise” in the pattern “vise dig [something],” as in the new example “Jeg viser dig vejen.”
én “én” means “one” and emphasizes that the speaker will point out a single correction. The accent distinguishes the number in this sentence, and it can be used before a singular noun, as in the new example “én vigtig ting.”
vigtig “vigtig” means “important” and describes the correction that will be pointed out. It comes before the noun “rettelse,” as in the new example “en vigtig besked.”
rettelse “rettelse” means “correction,” the specific improvement the partner will point out. It can be used after “vise” when explaining an error, as in the new example “vise en rettelse.”
hjælper “hjælper” means “helps” in “hjælper mig med at føle mig …” and describes the positive effect of the partner’s support. It is used with “mig” for the person helped and commonly follows the pattern “hjælpe nogen med at …”.
mig “mig” means “me” and identifies the person who feels less nervous. In “hjælper mig,” it is the person receiving help; the same form appears in the new example “Det hjælper mig.”
med “med” means “with” in the construction “hjælper mig med at føle mig …,” linking the help to the action it makes easier. A common pattern is “hjælpe nogen med at …,” as in the new example “Hun hjælper mig med at læse.”
føle “føle” means “feel” in “at føle mig mindre nervøs.” It is the infinitive after “at” and is used with a feeling or state, as in the new example “føle sig tryg.”
mindre “mindre” means “less” and shows that the speaker’s nervousness is reduced. It comes before the adjective “nervøs,” as in the new example “mindre træt.”
nervøs “nervøs” means “nervous,” describing the feeling the speaker has less of. It follows “føle mig” to describe the speaker’s state, as in the new example “Jeg føler mig nervøs.”
Begynd “Begynd” means “start” or “begin” and gives the instruction to start with the specified scene. It is the imperative form of “begynde”; a common instruction is “Begynd med …”.
denne “denne” means “this” and points to the particular scene they should start with. It appears before the common-gender noun “scene,” as in the new example “denne lektion.”
scene “scene” means “scene,” referring to one part of the role-play. It can be used after “begynd med” to name the starting section, as in the new example “Begynd med denne scene.”
følge “følge” means “follow” in “følge dit tempo,” meaning to match or keep up with the partner’s pace. It is the infinitive after “vil,” and a common pattern is “følge [someone’s] tempo.”
dit “dit” means “your” and shows that the tempo belongs to the person being addressed. It is used before the neuter noun “tempo,” as in the new example “dit arbejde.”
tempo “tempo” means “pace,” referring to how quickly the partner performs the role-play. It can be used with “følge” in “følge dit tempo,” as in the new example “arbejde i et roligt tempo.”

Grammar Points

Imperativ: verbets stamme

Gentag replikken langsomt.

gen-TAHG reh-PLEE-gun LANG-somd.

Repeat the line slowly.

The imperative uses the verb stem without a subject, for example gentag means “repeat”.

Hvis ..., så ...

Hvis jeg laver fejl, så gentag replikken.

VES YAI LAY-ver FYLE, soh gen-TAHG reh-PLEE-gun.

If I make a mistake, then repeat the line.

Hvis introduces a condition; så can introduce the result or instruction in the main clause.

Danish Vocabulary

anden adj
AN-uhn other
Gender
common

Jeg kan tage den anden rolle.

dette det
DEH-duh this
Gender
neuter

Kan vi øve dette rollespil sammen?

efter prep
EF-duh after

Hold en pause efter hvert spørgsmål, tak.

holde verb
HOHL-uh hold Hold

Hold en pause efter hvert spørgsmål, tak.

jeg pron
YAI I Jeg

Jeg kan tage den anden rolle.

pause noun
POW-suh pause
Gender
common

Hold en pause efter hvert spørgsmål, tak.

rolle noun
ROL-uh role
Gender
common

Jeg kan tage den anden rolle.

rollespil noun
ROH-luh-speel role-play
Gender
neuter

Kan vi øve dette rollespil sammen?

sammen adv
SAM-uhn together

Kan vi øve dette rollespil sammen?

tage verb
TAY-uh take

Jeg kan tage den anden rolle.

vi pron
VEE we

Kan vi øve dette rollespil sammen?

øve verb
UH-vuh practice

Kan vi øve dette rollespil sammen?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Can we practice this role-play together?

Show AnswerKan vi øve dette rollespil sammen?

I can take the other role.

Show AnswerJeg kan tage den anden rolle.

Start with this scene.

Show AnswerBegynd med denne scene.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

role-play

Show Answerrollespil

other

Show Answeranden

role

Show Answerrolle

take

Show Answertage