Planning for a Heatwave | Learn Danish in English

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Use Planning for a Heatwave to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

Hedebølgen forventes at fortsætte.

HAY-thuh-BUHL-guhn for-VEN-tiss eh for-SED-uh. The heatwave is expected to continue.

Så bør vi planlægge alt udendørs til den køligere del af dagen.

Soh buhr vee plan-LEG-uh ahlt oo-en-DUHRSS til den KOO-lee-uh-ruh del ahv DAY-en. Then we should plan anything outside for the cooler part of the day.

Jeg ville gerne besøge markedet, men menneskemængden kan gøre det sværere.

YAI VEL-uh GAIR-nuh beh-SUH-uh MAR-guh-thuh, men MEN-uhs-guh-MENG-duhn kan KUH-uh deh SVAIR-uh. I wanted to visit the market, but the crowds might make it harder.

I den varme bør vi vælge et mere stille tidspunkt og undgå at blive stående.

Ee den VAR-muh buhr vee VEL-guh ed MAY-ruh STEL-uh TEE-spohnt oh un-GOH eh BLEE-vuh STOH-uh-nuh. In that heat, we should choose a quieter time and avoid standing around.

Vi kan gå ad skyggefulde gader og hvile indenfor, når det er nødvendigt.

Vee kan goh eh SKOO-guh-FOOL-duh GAY-thuh oh VEE-luh EN-uhn-fohr, nohr deh air NUH-th-VEN-dee. We can take shaded streets and rest indoors when needed.

Det giver os mere fleksibilitet, hvis varmen bliver værre.

Deh KEE-vuh ohss MAY-ruh flek-see-bee-lee-TAYD, viss VAR-men BLEE-vuh VAIR-uh. That gives us more flexibility if the heat gets worse.

Ville en hat og noget ekstra vand hjælpe?

VEL-uh en HED oh NOH-uth EK-strah VAN YEL-puh? Would a hat and extra water help?

En hat vil hjælpe, og let tøj ville gøre gåturen lettere.

En HED vel YEL-puh, oh layd TOY VEL-uh KUH-uh GOH-toor-en LED-uh-ruh. A hat will help, and light clothing would make the walk easier.

Så kan vi ændre planen, hvis det føles for varmt.

Soh kan vee EN-druh PLAN-en, viss deh FUH-luhs fohr VARM. Then we can change the plan if it feels too hot.

Det lyder fleksibelt nok til en varm dag.

Deh LOO-thuh flek-see-BELD nok til en VARM DAY. That sounds flexible enough for a hot day.

Word by Word

Hedebølgen Hedebølgen means “the heatwave” and is the subject of the sentence. The ending -en makes dag? No, here it marks the definite form of hedebølge. It is used as the subject before forventes.

forventes Forventes means “is expected” here and describes what is anticipated to happen. The form is used before at plus an infinitive in forventes at fortsætte. A reusable pattern is [subject] forventes at + infinitive.

at At is the infinitive marker in at fortsætte, corresponding to “to continue.” It links forventes to the following verb. A reusable pattern is a verb followed by at + infinitive.

fortsætte Fortsætte means “continue” in at fortsætte and refers to the heatwave lasting on. It appears in the infinitive after at. The form can be reused after forventes at when describing an expected ongoing action.

Så Så means “then” and introduces the next planning step in response to the heatwave. It appears at the beginning of the sentence before bør. A common pattern is sentence-initial Så + a modal verb.

bør Bør means “should” or “ought to” and gives advice about planning outdoor activities. It is followed directly by the infinitive planlægge. The pattern bør + infinitive is useful for recommendations.

vi Vi means “we” and identifies the people who should make the plan. It comes before bør in bør vi planlægge. A reusable pattern is vi + verb when speaking about a shared action.

planlægge Planlægge means “plan” in bør vi planlægge and refers to arranging outdoor activities. It is the infinitive after bør and takes alt udendørs as its object. A useful pattern is planlægge something til a particular time.

alt Alt means “everything” or “all” and refers collectively to the outdoor activities being planned. In alt udendørs, it is followed by the description of what is outside. It can be used before a description to refer to a whole group of things.

udendørs Udendørs means “outdoors” and specifies that the activities in alt udendørs take place outside. It identifies the location or setting of the planned activities. It can be used to describe activities or plans that happen outside.

til Til means “for” here and marks the time chosen for the outdoor plans in til den køligere del af dagen. It connects the plan with its intended time. A reusable pattern is planlægge something til a time.

den Den means “the” in den køligere del and introduces the specific part of the day being discussed. It comes before the adjective and noun in this phrase. A common pattern is den + adjective + noun.

køligere Køligere means “cooler” and describes the preferred part of the day. Its comparative meaning shows that this part is cooler than another possible time. It is placed before the noun in køligere del.

del Del means “part” in den køligere del af dagen. It identifies a portion of the day rather than the whole day. A reusable expression is en del af + a noun.

af Af means “of” and links del to dagen in del af dagen. It shows that the chosen time is a part of the day. The pattern en del af + noun is commonly used for portions or sections.

dagen Dagen means “the day” in del af dagen. It is the definite form used for the specific day being discussed. It completes the expression del af dagen.

Jeg Jeg means “I” and is the subject of the speaker’s statement about wanting to visit the market. It appears at the beginning of the sentence before ville. A reusable pattern is Jeg + verb when stating your own action or intention.

ville Ville has two uses in this dialogue. In Jeg ville gerne besøge markedet it expresses a past wish or intention, while in Ville en hat og noget ekstra vand hjælpe? it helps form a polite hypothetical question. Useful patterns are ville gerne + infinitive and Ville + subject + infinitive?

gerne Gerne means “gladly” and, after ville, contributes to the meaning “would like to” in ville gerne besøge. It expresses a positive wish to do something. The reusable pattern is ville gerne + infinitive.

besøge Besøge means “visit” in ville gerne besøge markedet. It is the infinitive after ville gerne and takes markedet as its object. A common pattern is besøge + a place or person.

markedet Markedet means “the market” and is the place the speaker wanted to visit. It is the definite form of the market name used as the object of besøge. The phrase besøge markedet can be reused when talking about visiting that market.

men Men means “but” and introduces the difficulty caused by the crowd. It connects the wish to visit the market with a contrasting problem. A reusable pattern is one clause, men + a contrasting clause.

menneskemængden Menneskemængden means “the crowd” and is the possible cause of the visit becoming harder. It is the subject of kan gøre det sværere. It can be used as the subject when discussing how a crowd affects an activity.

kan Kan means “can” here and presents the crowd’s possible effect on the visit, close to “might.” It is followed by the infinitive gøre. The pattern kan + infinitive is used for ability or possibility.

gøre Gøre means “make” in kan gøre det sværere and describes causing a change in how difficult the visit is. It is the infinitive after kan and is followed by an object and a description. A reusable pattern is gøre something lettere or sværere.

det Det means “it” in kan gøre det sværere and refers to the market visit or activity. In Det giver and Det lyder, it refers back to the preceding plan or suggestion. A common pattern is det + verb when referring back to an already mentioned situation.

sværere Sværere means “harder” in det sværere and describes the possible effect of the crowd. It is the comparative form used after gøre. The pattern gøre something sværere can describe making an activity more difficult.

I I means “in” in I den varme and introduces the heat as the circumstances for the advice. It is followed by den varme. A reusable pattern is I + a situation or condition when describing circumstances.

varme Varme means “heat” in I den varme and names the hot conditions surrounding the plan. It is the situation in which they should choose a quieter time. It can be used after I to describe being in a particular kind of heat or condition.

vælge Vælge means “choose” in bør vi vælge et mere stille tidspunkt. It is the infinitive after bør and takes et mere stille tidspunkt as its object. A common pattern is vælge + an option or time.

mere Mere means “more” and makes stille comparative in mere stille, meaning “quieter.” It is placed before the adjective. The pattern mere + adjective is used to express a greater degree of a quality.

stille Stille means “quiet” in et mere stille tidspunkt and describes the preferred time as having less noise or activity. Mere makes the description comparative here. It is placed before the noun in the phrase mere stille tidspunkt.

tidspunkt Tidspunkt means “time” or “point in time” in et mere stille tidspunkt. It is the option they should choose for the market visit. A reusable pattern is vælge et tidspunkt when choosing when something should happen.

og Og means “and” and joins the two recommendations vælge et mere stille tidspunkt and undgå at blive stående. It connects related actions in the same plan. A common pattern is verb phrase og verb phrase.

undgå Undgå means “avoid” in undgå at blive stående. It introduces an action they want not to continue doing. A reusable pattern is undgå at + infinitive or undgå + a noun.

blive Blive contributes the meaning of remaining or continuing in the construction blive stående. It is preceded by at after undgå. The exact pattern at blive stående is useful for saying that someone remains standing.

stående Stående means “standing” in blive stående and describes the position that is continued. Together with blive, it means to remain standing rather than move on. The reusable expression blive stående can be used when someone stays on their feet in one place.

gå Gå means “walk” in gå ad skyggefulde gader and describes how they can travel. It is followed by ad to introduce the route. A reusable pattern is gå ad + a street or route.

ad Ad means “along” or “via” in gå ad skyggefulde gader and marks the route they take. It follows gå and comes before the route noun. The pattern gå ad + route is useful when describing walking along streets.

skyggefulde Skyggefulde means “shaded” and describes the streets as offering shade. It appears before gader in skyggefulde gader. A reusable pattern is an adjective before a noun to describe the route or place.

gader Gader means “streets” in skyggefulde gader and identifies the route they can walk along. It follows ad in the route expression. It can be used after gå ad when naming streets or similar routes.

hvile Hvile means “rest” in kan ... hvile indenfor. It is an infinitive after kan and describes taking a break indoors. A useful pattern is hvile + a place, such as hvile indenfor.

indenfor Indenfor means “indoors” and specifies where they can rest. It follows hvile in hvile indenfor. It can be used after an action verb to state that the action takes place inside.

når Når means “when” and introduces the situation in which resting indoors is needed. It begins the clause når det er nødvendigt. A reusable pattern is når + clause for a time or condition.

er Er means “is” in det er nødvendigt and links the situation to the description necessary. It is used in the clause introduced by når. A common pattern is det er + adjective when evaluating a situation.

nødvendigt Nødvendigt means “necessary” in det er nødvendigt and says that resting indoors is needed under the relevant conditions. It completes the evaluation after er. The pattern det er nødvendigt can introduce something that needs to happen.

giver Giver means “gives” in Det giver os mere fleksibilitet. It describes the plan providing flexibility to the speakers. The sentence uses the pattern giver + receiver + thing, with os as the receiver and fleksibilitet as the thing provided.

os Os means “us” and identifies the people who receive more flexibility in giver os mere fleksibilitet. It follows giver as the receiver. The reusable pattern is give os + a thing or benefit.

fleksibilitet Fleksibilitet means “flexibility” and names the benefit the plan gives them. It is modified by mere and follows os in giver os mere fleksibilitet. A useful pattern is give someone flexibility.

hvis Hvis means “if” and introduces the condition that the heat becomes worse. It begins hvis varmen bliver værre. A reusable pattern is hvis + clause for a possible condition.

varmen Varmen means “the heat” and is the subject of varmen bliver værre. It refers to the heat already being discussed in the lesson. The definite form is used when referring to that specific heat.

bliver Bliver means “gets” or “becomes” in bliver værre and describes a change in the heat’s condition. It is followed by the comparative værre. A reusable pattern is bliver + adjective or comparative to describe a change.

værre Værre means “worse” and describes the heat as becoming more severe. It follows bliver in bliver værre. The pattern bliver værre is useful for saying that a situation is deteriorating.

en En means “a” in en hat and introduces one unspecified hat. It appears before the singular noun hat. The same article is used in En hat vil hjælpe at the beginning of the next sentence.

hat Hat means “hat” and is one of the items suggested for dealing with the heat. It follows en in en hat and is the subject of Ville en hat ... hjælpe? A reusable pattern is en hat + verb when making a suggestion about a hat.

noget Noget means “some” in noget ekstra vand and introduces an unspecified amount of water. It is used before the description ekstra and the mass noun vand. A common pattern is noget + adjective + mass noun.

ekstra Ekstra means “extra” and describes water in addition to the amount already available or expected. It appears before vand in noget ekstra vand. The pattern ekstra + noun is useful for requesting or offering an additional amount.

vand Vand means “water” in noget ekstra vand. It is the other item suggested as helpful during the heat. The phrase ekstra vand can be reused when talking about bringing or needing more water.

hjælpe Hjælpe means “help” in Ville en hat og noget ekstra vand hjælpe? It is the infinitive after Ville and asks whether the suggested items would be useful. A reusable pattern is vil or ville + hjælpe when asking or stating whether something helps.

vil Vil means “will” in En hat vil hjælpe and expresses an expected helpful result. It is followed by the infinitive hjælpe. The pattern vil + infinitive is used for a future expectation or intention.

let Let means “light” in let tøj and describes clothing that is suitable for a hot walk. It modifies tøj directly before the noun. A reusable pattern is let + clothing noun when describing lightweight clothing.

tøj Tøj means “clothing” in let tøj and is the subject of ville gøre gåturen lettere. It is a general term for what someone wears rather than one individual item. The phrase let tøj can be reused when discussing clothing for warm weather.

gåturen Gåturen means “the walk” and refers to the planned walk as an activity. It is the object of gøre in gøre gåturen lettere. The definite form is used for the specific walk under discussion.

lettere Lettere means “easier” and describes the effect that light clothing would have on the walk. It is the comparative description after gøre gåturen. The reusable pattern gøre something lettere expresses making an activity easier.

ændre Ændre means “change” in kan vi ændre planen and refers to modifying the existing plan. It is the infinitive after kan and takes planen as its object. A common pattern is ændre + a plan, schedule, or decision.

planen Planen means “the plan” and is the specific plan they have just discussed. It is the object of ændre. The definite form is used because the plan is already known in the conversation.

føles Føles means “feels” in det føles for varmt and describes how the conditions are experienced. It is used with det and the description for varmt. A reusable pattern is det føles + adjective when describing how a situation feels.

for For means “too” in for varmt and says that the heat exceeds a comfortable level. It comes directly before the adjective varmt. The pattern for + adjective expresses an excessive degree.

varmt Varmt means “hot” or “warm” in det føles for varmt and describes the felt temperature. For makes it mean “too hot.” It is used after føles to describe the condition being experienced.

lyder Lyder means “sounds” in Det lyder fleksibelt nok and introduces an assessment of the proposed plan. It is followed by the description fleksibelt nok. A common pattern is Det lyder + adjective when giving an impression or evaluation.

fleksibelt Fleksibelt means “flexible” in Det lyder fleksibelt nok and describes the plan as adaptable. It follows lyder and is strengthened by nok. The pattern lyder + adjective can be used to assess how an arrangement seems.

nok Nok means “enough” in fleksibelt nok and says that the plan has a sufficient degree of flexibility. It follows the adjective it modifies. The reusable pattern adjective + nok means “adjective enough.”

varm Varm means “hot” or “warm” in varm dag and describes the day. It appears before dag in the phrase for a hot day. A common pattern is adjective + noun when describing weather or other conditions.

dag Dag means “day” in en varm dag and identifies the period for which the plan is suitable. It follows the adjective varm. The phrase en varm dag can be used when describing a day with high temperature.

Grammar Points

forventes at + infinitiv

Hedebølgen forventes at fortsætte.

HAY-thuh-BUHL-guhn for-VEN-tiss eh for-SED-uh.

The heatwave is expected to continue.

The -s form forventes makes a passive construction, so the sentence does not say who expects the heatwave to continue.

Comparative adjectives with -ere

Det er sværere at vælge et stille tidspunkt.

Deh air SVAIR-uh eh VEL-guh ed STEL-uh TEE-spohnt.

It is harder to choose a quiet time.

Many Danish adjectives form the comparative with -ere, corresponding to English “-er” or “more”.

Danish Vocabulary

fortsætte verb

for-SED-uh continue

forvente verb

for-VEN-tuh expect forventes

gøre verb

KUH-uh make

hedebølge noun

HAY-thuh-BUHL-guh heatwave Hedebølgen

kølig adj

KOO-lee cool køligere

marked noun

MAR-guhd market markedet

menneskemængde noun

MEN-uhs-guh-MENG-duh crowd menneskemængden

planlægge verb

plan-LEG-uh plan

svær adj

SVAIR hard, difficult sværere

udendørs adv

oo-en-DUHRSS outdoors

varme noun

VAR-muh heat varmen

vælge verb

VEL-guh choose

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

The heatwave is expected to continue.

Show Answer

Hedebølgen forventes at fortsætte.

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

outdoors

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udendørs

plan

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planlægge

market

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markedet

cool

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køligere