Using shared gym equipment politely | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Using shared gym equipment politely to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Er der nogen, der bruger dette løbebånd nu?

air dah NOH-en, dah BROO-ah DEH-duh LUH-buh-bawn noo? Is anyone using this treadmill now?

Det ser ledigt ud, men hold øje med tiden.

deh sair LAY-thee oo, men hohl OY-eh meh TEE-en. It looks free, but keep an eye on the time.

Hvor længe skal jeg bruge det, hvis andre venter?

voh LENG-eh skal yai BROO-ah deh, vis AN-druh VEN-duh? How long should I use it if others are waiting?

Begræns din tid til cirka ti minutter, når der er travlt i fitnesscenteret.

beh-GRENS deen tehl SEER-kah tee mee-NOOT-ah, nohr dah air TRAHWLT ee FIT-ness-SEN-tah-ret. Limit your time to around ten minutes when the gym is busy.

Skal jeg tørre det af, når jeg er færdig?

skahl yai TUR-uh deh af, nohr yai air FAIR-dee? Should I wipe it down after I finish?

Brug sprayen og et papirhåndklæde fra stativet.

broo SPRAY-en oh eh pah-PEER-hawn-kleh-theh frah stah-TEE-veh. Use the spray and a paper towel from the rack.

Jeg gør det rent, før jeg går.

yai GUR deh rent, fur yai goh. I'll clean it before I leave.

Så er udstyret klar til den næste person.

soh air OOTH-styuh-uh klahr tehl den NESS-tah per-SOHN. That keeps the equipment ready for the next person.

Word by Word

Er Er means “is/are” here and starts the question asking whether anyone is using the treadmill. It is the present form used in questions such as Er der nogen ...? and is useful when asking about someone or something’s current state.

der Der is the existential “there” in Er der nogen, asking whether anyone is present or involved. It works with er to introduce the person or thing whose presence is being asked about, so this form is useful in availability questions.

nogen Nogen means “anyone” in this question about whether somebody is using the treadmill. It refers to an unspecified person and is useful after the existential pattern Er der ...? when asking whether somebody is present or involved.

bruger Bruger means “uses” or “is using” in the question about the treadmill. It is the form used with the person being asked about, and a useful reuse point is to use it for someone’s current use of an object or facility.

dette Dette means “this” and points to the specific treadmill nearby. It is placed before løbebånd in dette løbebånd, so it is useful when identifying one particular nearby thing.

løbebånd Løbebånd means “treadmill,” the piece of gym equipment being discussed. It is the noun identified by dette, and it can be reused when asking about or referring to a treadmill in a gym.

nu Nu means “now” and asks about the treadmill’s use at the present moment. It commonly appears with a question about a current action or situation, as here.

Det Det means “it” here and refers back to the treadmill. In Det ser ledigt ud, it is the subject being described, so this pronoun is useful when referring back to a thing already mentioned.

ser Ser means “looks” or “seems” in the description of the treadmill’s apparent availability. It is used with ledigt ud in this sentence, and it is useful when giving an impression rather than stating a directly verified fact.

ledigt Ledigt means “free” or “available” here, describing the treadmill as apparently not in use. It follows ser and combines with ud in ser ledigt ud, a useful way to describe how something appears.

ud Ud contributes to the expression ser ledigt ud, which means “looks free” or “seems available” here. It belongs with ser and the description, so it is useful in the reusable pattern ser + description + ud.

men Men means “but” and introduces advice that contrasts with the treadmill appearing free. It connects two parts of a statement when the second part limits or qualifies the first.

hold øje med Hold øje med means “keep an eye on” or “watch carefully” in the advice about monitoring the time. In this expression, hold means “keep,” øje means “eye,” and med links the action to what is watched; a reusable pattern is hold øje med + the thing being monitored. It is useful when reminding someone to pay attention to a changing situation.

tiden Tiden means “the time” and refers to the amount of time available for using the treadmill. It is the definite form related to tid, and it is useful after hold øje med when telling someone to monitor time.

Hvor Hvor means “how” in the question Hvor længe, which asks about duration. It combines with længe to form a question about how long something should continue.

længe Længe means “long” when it refers to duration in Hvor længe. It is useful with hvor when asking how much time an activity should take or continue.

skal Skal means “should” here, asking what amount of use is appropriate. It is followed by bruge in Skal jeg bruge det, so it is useful for asking about an expected or recommended action.

jeg Jeg means “I” and identifies the speaker as the person who may use the treadmill. It is the subject before skal and is useful when talking about the speaker’s own action or responsibility.

bruge Bruge means “use” in the question about using the treadmill. It follows skal in Skal jeg bruge det, and this combination is a useful pattern for asking whether or how one should use something.

hvis Hvis means “if” and introduces the condition that other people are waiting. It is useful for connecting an action or recommendation to a possible situation.

andre Andre means “others,” referring to other gym users who may be waiting for the treadmill. It is useful when referring to additional people without naming them individually.

venter Venter means “are waiting” here and describes the other people’s situation. It is the action in the clause introduced by hvis, and it is useful when explaining that people are waiting for access or service.

Begræns Begræns means “limit” as a direct instruction to the listener about their time. It is used at the start of the instruction Begræns din tid, so it is useful when politely or directly setting a maximum.

din Din means “your” and identifies the time as belonging to the person being addressed. It comes before tid in din tid, and it is useful for referring to something connected with the listener.

tid Tid means “time” in the phrase din tid, meaning the period the listener spends using the treadmill. It is useful with a quantity or limit when discussing how long an activity may continue.

til Til means “to” in Begræns din tid til cirka ti minutter and marks the limit being set. It is useful after a verb of limiting when specifying the permitted amount or endpoint.

cirka Cirka means “around” or “approximately” and shows that ten minutes is an estimate rather than an exact requirement. It is placed before the amount cirka ti minutter, so it is useful with numbers when precision is not intended.

minutter Minutter means “minutes,” the unit used for the suggested time limit. It follows the number ti in the phrase ti minutter and is useful when stating a duration or time allowance.

når Når means “when” and introduces the situation that the gym is busy. It is useful for linking advice to a recurring or expected situation.

travlt Travlt means “busy” in the expression der er travlt i fitnesscenteret, describing a crowded or active situation at the gym. It is useful in this expression when explaining that many people may need access at the same time.

i I means “in” and locates the busy situation inside the fitness center. It is used before fitnesscenteret, and it is useful for indicating the place where an action or situation occurs.

fitnesscenteret Fitnesscenteret means “the gym” or “the fitness center” where the conversation takes place. It is the definite form referring to the particular gym, and it is useful after i when naming the location of an activity.

tørre Tørre means “wipe” in the question about wiping the treadmill down after use. It follows skal in Skal jeg tørre det af, and it is useful for asking about cleaning or drying an object.

af Af contributes to tørre det af, meaning “wipe it down” in this context. It completes the action of wiping a surface, so the reusable pattern is tørre + object + af.

færdig Færdig means “finished” or “done” when the speaker has completed using and cleaning the treadmill. It describes the speaker in når jeg er færdig, and it is useful for indicating that an activity has ended.

Brug Brug means “use” as a direct instruction to use the spray and paper towel. It begins the instruction Brug sprayen, so it is useful when telling someone to use a particular item.

sprayen Sprayen means “the spray,” referring to the cleaning spray available in the gym. It is the object of Brug and is useful when identifying a specific spray already available in the setting.

og Og means “and” and joins the spray with the paper towel as two items to use. It is useful for connecting equal items or actions in one instruction.

et Et means “a” or “an” before papirhåndklæde and introduces one unspecified paper towel. It is useful before the noun when referring to one item without identifying a particular one.

papirhåndklæde Papirhåndklæde means “paper towel,” the item used with the spray for cleaning. It is joined to sprayen by og and is useful when naming a paper towel used for wiping a surface.

fra Fra means “from” and shows where the paper towel should be taken: the rack. It is useful for indicating the source or place from which an item is obtained.

stativet Stativet means “the rack” or “the stand,” referring to the particular rack holding the paper towels. It follows fra in fra stativet and is useful when directing someone to take something from a specific support or storage place.

gør Gør means “make” or “do” in gør det rent, where the speaker says they will make the treadmill clean. It is the verb used with det and rent, and it is useful when describing making something reach a clean condition.

rent Rent means “clean” and describes the condition the treadmill will have after cleaning. In gør det rent, it completes the description of det, so it is useful for stating the result of cleaning an object.

før Før means “before” and introduces the time boundary before the speaker leaves. It is useful for linking one action to an earlier action that must happen first.

går Går means “go” or “leave” here, referring to the speaker leaving the gym. It appears in før jeg går, and it is useful when describing an action that happens before departure.

Så Så means “so” or “then” and presents the result of cleaning the equipment. At the start of Så er udstyret klar, it is useful for showing a consequence or resulting state.

udstyret Udstyret means “the equipment,” referring to the gym equipment after it has been cleaned. It is the subject of Så er udstyret klar and is useful when referring to the particular equipment already under discussion.

klar Klar means “ready” and describes the equipment as ready for another user. It follows er in er udstyret klar, and it is useful for stating that something can now be used or received.

den Den means “the” in den næste person and helps identify the particular person who will use the equipment afterward. It is useful before an adjective and noun when referring to a specific person or thing.

næste Næste means “next” and identifies the person who will use the equipment after the current user. It comes before person in den næste person, and it is useful for describing the following person or event in an order.

person Person means “person,” referring to the next gym user. It is the noun in den næste person and is useful when identifying an individual without specifying their name or other details.

Grammar Points

Bestemt ental: substantiv + -et/-en

fitnesscenteret

FIT-ness-SEN-tah-ret

the gym

Danish often marks the definite singular with a suffix on the noun instead of a separate word like “the”.

Imperativ: verbets stamme

Begræns tiden.

beh-GRENS TEE-en

Limit the time.

The imperative gives a direct instruction. The verb appears without a subject such as “du”.

Danish Vocabulary

andre pron

AN-druh others

hvis andre venter

begrænse verb

beh-GREN-suh to limit begræns

Begræns din tid

bruge verb

BROO-ah to use bruger

der bruger dette løbebånd

cirka adv

SEER-kah around; approximately

til cirka ti minutter

holde øje med phrase

HOHL-ah OY-eh meh to keep an eye on hold øje med

hold øje med tiden

hvor længe phrase

voh LENG-eh how long

Hvor længe skal jeg bruge det?

ledig adj

LAY-thee free; available ledigt

Det ser ledigt ud

løbebånd noun

LUH-buh-bawn treadmill

dette løbebånd

nogen pron

NOH-en anyone; someone

Er der nogen, der bruger dette løbebånd nu?

nu adv

noo now

bruger dette løbebånd nu

tid noun

TEE time tiden

hold øje med tiden

vente verb

VEN-duh to wait venter

hvis andre venter

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

anyone; someone

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nogen

others

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andre

treadmill

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løbebånd

free; available

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ledigt