Checking the Apartment Before Leaving | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: At home, two adults check the stove, windows, door, and lights before leaving the apartment..

EN → DA / Level: A2

About This Lesson

Use Checking the Apartment Before Leaving to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Før vi går, bør vi tjekke lejligheden.

FUHR vee GOHR, BUHR vee CHEH-guh LYE-lee-HAY-thun. Before we leave, we should check the apartment.
B

Jeg har allerede slukket for komfuret.

YAI hah ah-luh-REH-thuh SLOH-guhd foh kum-FOO-uhd. I already turned off the stove.
A

Er alle vinduerne lukkede?

air AL-uh VEN-oo-uh-nuh LOH-guh-thuh? Are all the windows closed?
B

Vinduet i soveværelset står stadig åbent.

VEN-oo-uhd ee SOH-vuh-VAIR-el-suhd STOHR STEH-thee OH-bun. The bedroom window is still open.
A

Jeg lukker det og låser altandøren.

YAI LOH-guh deh oh LOH-suh AL-tan-DUHR-en. I'll close it and lock the balcony door.
B

Lysene i gangen er stadig tændt.

LYOO-suh-nuh ee GANG-un air STEH-thee TEND. The hallway lights are still on.
B

Så slukker jeg dem.

soh LOH-guh YAI dem. So I'll turn them off.
A

Det burde være det hele.

deh BOO-uh VAIR-uh deh HEE-luh. That should be everything.
B

Lad os gå, før det bliver for sent.

LAD oss GOHR, FUHR deh BLEE-vuh foh SENT. Let's go before it gets too late.

Word by Word

Før In “Før vi går” and “før det bliver for sent”, this means “before” and introduces an event that must happen earlier than another event. It can come at the beginning of a clause describing when something happens.
vi In “Før vi går”, “vi” means “we”, including the speaker and the other person. It is used as the subject before the action in this clause.
går In “vi går”, “går” means “go” or “leave”; here it refers to leaving the apartment. Use it when the subject is going or leaving somewhere.
bør In “bør vi tjekke lejligheden”, “bør” expresses what the speakers should do. It comes before the action “tjekke” to give a recommendation or expected action.
tjekke In “bør vi tjekke lejligheden”, “tjekke” means “check” or “inspect”. It is followed by the thing being checked, here “lejligheden”.
lejligheden In “tjekke lejligheden”, “lejligheden” means “the apartment”, the place the speakers are checking before they leave. It functions as the thing affected by the checking action.
Jeg In “Jeg har allerede slukket for komfuret” and “Jeg lukker det”, “Jeg” means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person doing the action. It is used as the subject before the action.
har In “Jeg har allerede slukket for komfuret”, “har” helps express that the turning-off action has already been completed. It combines with “slukket” in this completed-action phrase.
allerede In “har allerede slukket”, “allerede” means “already” and shows that the action happened before this point. It is placed before the completed action in this sentence.
slukket In “har allerede slukket for komfuret”, “slukket” means “turned off”. Together with “har” it describes an action that is completed, and the phrase includes what was turned off.
for In “slukket for komfuret”, “for” belongs to the expression used for turning off the stove; its meaning comes from the whole expression. In “for sent”, it is part of the expression meaning “too late”, so it has a different function there.
komfuret In “slukket for komfuret”, “komfuret” means “the stove” that has been turned off. It identifies the household appliance involved in the action.
Er At the beginning of “Er alle vinduerne lukkede?”, “Er” means “are” and opens a question about the windows’ state. It comes before the subject in this question.
alle In “alle vinduerne”, “alle” means “all” and includes the entire set of windows. It comes before the plural noun phrase it describes.
vinduerne In “alle vinduerne lukkede?”, “vinduerne” means “the windows” being checked. It identifies the windows whose state is being asked about.
lukkede In “alle vinduerne lukkede?”, “lukkede” means “closed” and describes the state of the windows. It is used with the windows as the thing being described.
Vinduet In “Vinduet i soveværelset”, “Vinduet” means “the window”, specifically the one in the bedroom. It is the main thing being described in the next sentence.
i In “i soveværelset”, “i” means “in” and links the window to its location. It introduces the place where the window is.
soveværelset In “i soveværelset”, “soveværelset” means “the bedroom”. It specifies the room in which the window is located.
står In “står stadig åbent”, “står” means “stands” but here presents the window as remaining in a particular state. It is used with a thing and a description of that thing’s state.
stadig In “står stadig åbent” and “er stadig tændt”, “stadig” means “still” and shows that a state continues. It is placed before the word describing the continuing state.
åbent In “står stadig åbent”, “åbent” means “open” and describes the bedroom window’s state. It follows “står” to say how the window remains.
lukker In “Jeg lukker det”, “lukker” means “close”. The object being closed follows it, here “det”, which refers to the bedroom window.
det In “Jeg lukker det”, “det” means “it” and refers to the bedroom window. In “Det burde være det hele”, the first “Det” refers to the expected result, while “det hele” is a fixed expression meaning “everything”; in “før det bliver for sent”, it refers to the situation or time becoming too late.
og In “Jeg lukker det og låser altandøren”, “og” means “and” and connects the two actions. It lets the speaker link closing the window with locking the balcony door.
låser In “låser altandøren”, “låser” means “lock”. The thing being locked follows it, here “altandøren”.
altandøren In “låser altandøren”, “altandøren” means “the balcony door”. It is the object that the speaker locks before leaving.
Lysene In “Lysene i gangen”, “Lysene” means “the lights”, specifically the lights in the hallway. It is the subject whose state is described as still being on.
gangen In “i gangen”, “gangen” means “the hallway”. It identifies the location of the lights.
tændt In “er stadig tændt”, “tændt” means “on” or “switched on”. Together with “er” and “stadig”, it says that the hallway lights remain on.
In “Så slukker jeg dem”, “Så” means “so” and marks the consequence of noticing that the lights are still on. It connects the situation with the action that follows.
slukker In “slukker jeg dem”, “slukker” means “turn off”. The object “dem” follows it and identifies the things being switched off.
dem In “slukker jeg dem”, “dem” means “them” and refers to the hallway lights mentioned just before. It is used as the object of the turning-off action.
burde In “Det burde være det hele”, “burde” means “should” or “ought to” and expresses the expected result of the apartment check. It comes before “være” in this statement.
være In “burde være det hele”, “være” means “be” and describes the expected result. It follows “burde” and is followed by the phrase “det hele”.
hele In “det hele”, “hele” contributes the idea of “whole”. The complete expression “det hele” means “everything” or “the whole thing” that needed checking.
Lad In “Lad os gå”, “Lad” helps make a suggestion to do something together. Together with “os” and the following action, it introduces the suggestion to leave.
os In “Lad os gå”, “os” means “us” and refers to the speaker and the other person together. It is part of the suggestion directed at both people.
bliver In “før det bliver for sent”, “bliver” means “becomes” or “gets”. It describes time changing into the state expressed by “for sent”.
sent In “for sent”, “sent” means “late”. The complete expression “for sent” means “too late”, describing the time by which the speakers want to leave.

Grammar Points

før + subjekt + verb

før vi går

FUHR vee GOHR

before we leave

Use før to introduce a time clause. The subject comes before the verb: før vi går.

et-ord + adjective ending in -t

vinduet står stadig åbent

VEN-oo-uhd STOHR STEH-thee OH-bun

the window is still open

With an et-noun such as vinduet, the adjective takes the -t ending: åbent.

Danish Vocabulary

alle det
AL-uh all
allerede adv
ah-luh-REH-thuh already
før conj
FUHR before

Før vi går

går verb
GOHR go, leave
jeg pron
YAI I
komfuret noun
kum-FOO-uhd the stove
Gender
neuter
lejligheden noun
LYE-lee-HAY-thun the apartment
Gender
common
lukkede adj
LOH-guh-thuh closed
slukket verb
SLOH-guhd turned off
tjekke verb
CHEH-guh check
vi pron
vee we
vinduerne noun
VEN-oo-uh-nuh the windows
Gender
neuter

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

I already turned off the stove.

Show AnswerJeg har allerede slukket for komfuret.

Are all the windows closed?

Show AnswerEr alle vinduerne lukkede?

The bedroom window is still open.

Show AnswerVinduet i soveværelset står stadig åbent.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

turned off

Show Answerslukket

the stove

Show Answerkomfuret

already

Show Answerallerede

the apartment

Show Answerlejligheden