Building a focused study plan | Learn Danish in English

About This Lesson

Use Building a focused study plan to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Jeg studerer hver dag, men mine fremskridt føles stadig ujævne.

yai stoo-DAIR-uh vair day, men MEE-nuh frem-SKRED FUR-luhs STAI-thee oo-YEV-nuh. I study every day, but my progress still feels uneven.

Hvilken del fungerer dårligst, når du taler med folk?

VIL-kuhn del foon-GAIR-uhs DAWR-leest, nor doo TAI-luh med FOHLG? Which part breaks down most when you talk with people?

Det er lytteforståelsen, især når folk taler i et naturligt tempo.

deh air LOO-tuh-for-STOH-uhl-suhn, ee-SAIR nor FOHLG TAI-luh ee et nah-TOOR-ligt TEM-poh. Listening does, especially when people speak at a natural speed.

Så brug mere tid på lytning, før du tilføjer nye grammatikøvelser.

soh broo MAIR-uh thee poh LOOT-ning, fur doo til-FOY-uh NOO-uh gra-mah-TEEK-UR-vuhl-suh. Then give listening more time before adding new grammar exercises.

Hvordan kan jeg vide, om jeg bliver bedre, uden hele tiden at tage prøver?

voh-DAN kan yai VEE-uh, om yai BLEE-uh BEH-thruh, OO-thən HAI-luh TEE-uhn uh TAI-uh PRUR-vuh? How can I tell whether I am improving without taking tests all the time?

Brug den samme korte optagelse to gange, og sammenlign det, du forstod.

broo den SAM-uh KOR-tuh OP-tai-uhl-suh toh GANG-uh, oh SAM-uhn-LINE deh, doo for-STOH. Use the same short recording twice and compare what you understood.

Det giver mig en tydeligere målestok for mine fremskridt end at skifte materiale hver dag.

deh GEE-vuh myai ən TOO-thuh-lee-uh-ruh MOH-luh-stohg fohr MEE-nuh frem-SKRED en uh SKIF-tuh ma-teh-ree-AI-luh vair day. That gives me a clearer measure than changing materials every day.

Det viser også, om din strategi virker, og ikke kun hvor længe du har studeret.

deh VEE-suh AW-suh, om deen streh-teh-GEE VEER-kuh, oh nee KUN vohr LAI-nguh doo hah stoo-DAIR-uhd. It also shows whether your strategy is working, not just how long you studied.

Jeg kunne gennemgå mine noter en gang om ugen og justere ud fra det.

yai KOO-nuh GEN-uh-GOH MEE-nuh NOH-tuh en GANG ohm OO-uhn oh yoo-STAIR-uh ooth frah deh. I could check my notes once a week and adjust from there.

En lille gennemgang som den kan holde din træning fokuseret.

uhn LIL-uh GEN-uh-GANG som den kan HOL-uh deen TRAIN-ing foh-koo-SAIR-uhd. A small review like that can keep your practice focused.

Word by Word

Jeg “Jeg” means “I” here and identifies the person speaking. It is used as the subject before the verb, as in “Jeg studerer”.

studerer “studerer” means “study” here, describing the speaker’s regular activity. It follows the subject in “Jeg studerer”; a reusable pattern is “Jeg studerer dansk”.

hver “hver” means “every” in “hver dag”, marking each individual day. It commonly comes directly before a singular time expression, as in “hver dag”.

dag “dag” means “day” in the time expression “hver dag”. It can be used after “hver” to describe a daily routine.

men “men” means “but” and introduces a contrast between studying daily and progress feeling uneven. It commonly links two contrasting clauses, as in “Jeg studerer, men …”.

mine “mine” means “my” before “fremskridt” and refers to something belonging to the speaker. It is used before the plural noun in “mine fremskridt”.

fremskridt “fremskridt” means “progress” in this lesson. It is the thing whose quality is being described in “mine fremskridt føles stadig ujævne”; a reusable pattern is “se fremskridt”.

føles “føles” means “feels” here, expressing how the speaker experiences the progress. It is used with a description after it, as in “fremskridt føles ujævne”.

stadig “stadig” means “still”, showing that the uneven feeling continues. It commonly appears before the adjective or description it modifies, as in “føles stadig ujævne”.

ujævne “ujævne” means “uneven” here, describing the speaker’s progress as inconsistent. The form is used after “føles” to describe “mine fremskridt”.

Hvilken “Hvilken” means “which” and asks the listener to choose one part from several possibilities. It comes before a singular noun, as in “Hvilken del …?”.

del “del” means “part” in the question about which aspect of learning is weakest. It is commonly used in the pattern “hvilken del af …” when identifying an aspect.

fungerer “fungerer” means “works” or “functions” here, referring to how well a part of the learner’s ability performs. It can be used with an adverb such as “dårligt” to describe performance.

dårligst “dårligst” means “least well” or “worst” here and identifies the part with the weakest performance. It can follow a verb such as “fungerer” to compare several parts.

når “når” means “when” and introduces the situation in which the problem appears. It commonly begins a time or situation clause, as in “når du taler med folk”.

du “du” means “you” and refers to the person being asked about. It is the subject of “taler” in “du taler med folk”.

taler “taler” means “speak” or “talk” here, describing communication with other people. A reusable pattern is “tale med folk”, meaning to talk with people.

med “med” means “with” and connects the action of talking to the people involved. It is used in the pattern “tale med + person or people”.

folk “folk” means “people” in “taler med folk”. It can follow “med” when referring generally to the people someone talks with.

Det “Det” means “it” here and introduces the answer identifying which part causes difficulty. In “Det er lytteforståelsen”, it points forward to the noun that follows “er”.

er “er” means “is” and links “Det” with the identified skill, “lytteforståelsen”. It is used in the pattern “Det er …” to identify or clarify something.

lytteforståelsen “lytteforståelsen” means “the listening comprehension” here. The definite form refers to the specific listening skill being discussed, and it follows “Det er” in “Det er lytteforståelsen”.

især “især” means “especially” and highlights the situation that makes listening difficult. It can introduce a particularly important condition, as in “især når folk taler …”.

i “i” means “at” in “i et naturligt tempo”, describing the speed at which people speak. It is used before a noun phrase to describe the circumstances of an action.

et “et” means “a” or “an” before “naturligt tempo”. It introduces the singular noun phrase “et naturligt tempo”.

naturligt “naturligt” means “natural” in “et naturligt tempo”. This form is used with the neuter noun phrase introduced by “et”, and it describes the speaking pace.

tempo “tempo” means “speed” or “pace” here, specifically the pace at which people speak. It is used in “i et naturligt tempo” to describe speaking speed.

Så “Så” means “then” here and introduces the advice that follows from the listening difficulty. It commonly appears at the beginning of a response before a suggestion or instruction.

brug “brug” means “use” or “spend” here, giving an instruction to devote more time to listening. It is used with “tid på” in “brug mere tid på lytning”.

mere “mere” means “more” and indicates an increased amount of time. It comes before “tid” in the reusable pattern “bruge mere tid på …”.

tid “tid” means “time” in “brug mere tid på lytning”. It commonly appears with “bruge” and “på” when describing time devoted to an activity.

på “på” means “on” or “for” here and connects the time to the activity receiving it. The pattern “bruge tid på + activity” means to spend time on an activity.

lytning “lytning” means “listening” here, referring to listening practice as an activity. It follows “tid på” in “bruge mere tid på lytning”.

før “før” means “before” and places one action earlier than another. In “før du tilføjer …”, it introduces the action that should wait.

tilføjer “tilføjer” means “add” here, referring to adding new grammar exercises. It is used with the thing being added, as in “tilføjer nye grammatikøvelser”.

nye “nye” means “new” and describes the grammar exercises as not previously included in the plan. It comes directly before the plural noun “grammatikøvelser”.

grammatikøvelser “grammatikøvelser” means “grammar exercises”. It is the object of “tilføjer” in “tilføjer nye grammatikøvelser”; a reusable pattern is “lave grammatikøvelser”.

Hvordan “Hvordan” means “how” and asks about the method for knowing whether progress is happening. It commonly begins a question about how something can be done, as in “Hvordan kan jeg …?”.

kan “kan” means “can” here and expresses possibility or ability. It is followed by the infinitive “vide” in “kan jeg vide …”.

vide “vide” means “know” here, asking how the speaker can know whether improvement is occurring. After “kan”, it remains in the infinitive, as in “kan jeg vide …”.

om “om” means “whether” and introduces the question of whether improvement is taking place. It commonly introduces an indirect yes-or-no clause, as in “vide, om …”.

bliver “bliver” means “become” or “get” here, describing a change toward a better ability. It is used with the adjective “bedre” in “bliver bedre”.

bedre “bedre” means “better” and describes improvement in the learner’s ability. It follows “bliver” in the common pattern “bliver bedre”.

uden “uden” means “without” and excludes a condition from the question. It is followed by the phrase “hele tiden at tage prøver”, describing what the speaker wants to avoid doing constantly.

hele “hele” means “all” in the expression “hele tiden”. Together, “hele tiden” means “all the time” and describes repeated or continuous frequency.

tiden “tiden” means “the time” in the fixed expression “hele tiden”. This expression is used to say that something happens continuously or very frequently.

at “at” marks the infinitive in “at tage prøver”, meaning “to take tests”. It commonly appears before the base form of a verb after a preposition such as “uden”.

tage “tage” means “take” in the expression “tage prøver”, meaning to take tests. The reusable pattern is “tage en prøve” or “tage prøver”.

prøver “prøver” means “tests” here and refers to assessments used to measure language ability. It is the object in “tage prøver”.

den “den” means “the” here and identifies one specific recording. It comes before the adjective and noun in “den samme korte optagelse”.

samme “samme” means “same” and emphasizes that the recording should not change between uses. It comes before the noun phrase in “den samme korte optagelse”.

korte “korte” means “short” and describes the recording’s length. It appears before “optagelse” inside the definite noun phrase “den samme korte optagelse”.

optagelse “optagelse” means “recording” here, referring to the audio used for comparison. It is the object of “brug” in “Brug den samme korte optagelse”.

gange “gange” means “times” in “to gange”, specifying how often the recording should be used. It follows a number in expressions such as “to gange”.

og “og” means “and” and links the instruction to use the recording with the instruction to compare the results. It joins two coordinated actions, “brug … og sammenlign …”.

sammenlign “sammenlign” means “compare” and gives the instruction to examine the two listening results against each other. It is used with the things being compared, as in “sammenlign det …”.

forstod “forstod” means “understood” here and refers to what the learner understood from the recording. It appears in the clause “det, du forstod”, referring to the understanding achieved earlier.

giver “giver” means “gives” here, describing what the method provides to the speaker. It is used with a recipient and an outcome in “giver mig en tydeligere målestok”.

mig “mig” means “me” and identifies the person receiving the clearer measure. It follows “giver” in the pattern “giver mig …”.

en “en” means “a” or “an” before “tydeligere målestok”. It introduces the singular noun phrase that describes what the method gives the speaker.

tydeligere “tydeligere” means “clearer” and compares this measure with changing materials every day. It comes before “målestok” in “en tydeligere målestok”.

målestok “målestok” means “measure” or “benchmark” here, referring to a way of judging progress. It is used with “for” in “målestok for mine fremskridt”.

for “for” means “for” in “målestok for mine fremskridt”, identifying what the measure applies to. It commonly follows a noun such as “målestok” to specify its purpose.

end “end” means “than” and introduces the alternative used for comparison. In “tydeligere … end at skifte materiale”, it compares two ways of measuring progress.

skifte “skifte” means “change” here, referring to changing study materials. It follows “at” in “end at skifte materiale”, and it can be used with the thing being changed.

materiale “materiale” means “material” here, referring to study or learning material. It is the object of “skifte” in “skifte materiale”.

viser “viser” means “shows” here, describing what the method reveals about the strategy. It can be used with a clause introduced by “om”, as in “viser, om …”.

også “også” means “also” and adds another benefit of the comparison method. It commonly appears near the verb or before the information being added, as in “viser også …”.

din “din” means “your” and identifies the strategy as belonging to the person being addressed. It comes before the singular noun “strategi”.

strategi “strategi” means “strategy” here, referring to the learner’s approach to studying. It is the subject of the clause “din strategi virker”.

virker “virker” means “works” or “is effective” here, asking whether the study strategy produces the desired result. It is used with a subject such as “din strategi”.

ikke “ikke” means “not” and negates the idea that only study duration is being considered. It appears before “kun” in the contrast “ikke kun …”.

kun “kun” means “only” and limits the information to study duration in the phrase “ikke kun”. Together with “ikke”, it means “not only”.

hvor “hvor” means “how” in “hvor længe”, asking about duration. It combines with “længe” to form the question “how long”.

længe “længe” means “long” in the question expression “hvor længe”. The pattern “hvor længe” asks about the duration of an activity.

har “har” means “have” here and helps form the expression “har studeret”, referring to study completed or carried out up to the relevant point. It comes before the past participle “studeret”.

studeret “studeret” means “studied” in “har studeret”. Together with “har”, it refers to how long the person has studied.

kunne “kunne” means “could” and presents a possible plan for checking the learner’s notes. It is followed by the infinitive “gennemgå” in “kunne gennemgå …”.

gennemgå “gennemgå” means “review” or “go through” here, referring to examining the notes. It follows “kunne” and takes “mine noter” as its object.

noter “noter” means “notes” here, referring to the learner’s written record of study. It is the object of “gennemgå” in “gennemgå mine noter”.

ugen “ugen” means “the week” in the time expression “en gang om ugen”. This expression describes something that happens once during each week.

justere “justere” means “adjust” here, referring to changing the study plan based on the review. It is coordinated with “gennemgå” after “kunne”: “kunne gennemgå … og justere …”.

ud “ud” is part of the expression “ud fra det”, meaning “based on that”. It should be understood together with “fra” rather than as a separate direction here.

fra “fra” is part of “ud fra det”, meaning “based on that”. The expression “justere ud fra …” describes making an adjustment using something as the basis.

lille “lille” means “small” here and describes the review as limited in size or scope. It comes before the singular noun “gennemgang”.

gennemgang “gennemgang” means “review” here, referring to a short examination of the learner’s notes or progress. It is the subject of “kan holde … fokuseret”.

som “som” means “like” in “som den” and compares the small review with the review just described. It introduces a comparison before the pronoun “den”.

holde “holde” means “keep” here, expressing that the review can maintain a focused state. It follows “kan” and is used in the pattern “holde noget fokuseret”.

træning “træning” means “practice” or “training” here, referring to the learner’s language-study activity. It is the object of “holde” in “holde din træning fokuseret”.

fokuseret “fokuseret” means “focused” here and describes the desired state of the practice. It follows “holde” in “holde din træning fokuseret”, where the review helps keep the practice directed.

Grammar Points

bliver bedre

bliver bedre

BLEE-uh BEH-thruh

gets better; improves

‘Bedre’ expresses a higher degree, while ‘bliver’ shows a change toward that state.

dårligst

dårligst

DAWR-leest

worst

‘Dårligst’ is a superlative adverb, marking the lowest degree of how something works.

Danish Vocabulary

bliver bedre phrase

BLEE-uh BEH-thruh gets better; improves

dårligst adv

DAWR-leest worst

fremskridt noun

frem-SKRED progress

fungerer verb

foon-GAIR-uh works; functions

grammatikøvelser noun

gra-mah-TEEK-UR-vuhl-suh grammar exercises

lytning noun

LOOT-ning listening

lytteforståelsen noun

LOO-tuh-for-STOH-uhl-suhn listening comprehension

naturligt tempo phrase

nah-TOOR-ligt TEM-poh natural speed

optagelse noun

OP-tai-uhl-suh recording

sammenlign verb

sam-uhn-LINE compare

tilføjer verb

til-FOY-uh adds

ujævne adj

oo-YEV-nuh uneven

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

works; functions

Show Answer

fungerer

uneven

Show Answer

ujævne

listening

Show Answer

lytning

worst

Show Answer

dårligst