Preparing to call a clinic about cough symptoms | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: At home before calling a clinic, two adults organize cough symptoms, recent changes, worries, and questions about urgent help..

EN → DA / Level: B1

About This Lesson

Use Preparing to call a clinic about cough symptoms to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Jeg er nødt til at ringe til klinikken, fordi min hoste ikke bliver bedre.

YAI air NURT till uh RING-uh till klee-NGUN, FOH-thee men HOSS-duh EGG-uh BLEE-wuh BEH-thruh. I need to call the clinic because my cough is not getting better.
B

Fortæl dem, hvad der har ændret sig, og hvad der bekymrer dig mest.

foh-TEL dem veh, dair har EN-ruth sigh, oh veh dair beh-KOOM-uh dye mest. Tell them what has changed and what worries you most.
A

Den er blevet værre, og jeg føler, at jeg har feber og er træt.

Den air BLEH-wuh VAIR-uh, oh YAI FUR-luh, uh YAI har FAY-buh oh air TREHT. It has gotten worse, and I feel feverish and tired.
B

Nævn, hvornår det begyndte, og om noget har hjulpet.

NEVN, VORN-or deh beh-GURN-duh, oh ohm NOH-th har YOOL-puhth. Mention when it started and whether anything has helped.
A

Jeg har også brug for at vide, hvad jeg skal gøre, hvis det bliver værre i aften.

YAI har OH-suh broo foh uh VEE-thuh, veh YAI skal GUHR-uh, vess deh BLEE-wuh VAIR-uh ee AHF-den. I also need to know what to do if it gets worse tonight.
B

Spørg, hvor du skal tage hen, hvis du hurtigt får brug for hjælp.

SPURR, vohr doo skal TAY-uh hen, vess doo HURR-dt for broo foh yelp. Ask where you should go if you need help quickly.
A

Jeg skriver de vigtigste punkter ned, før jeg ringer.

YAI SGREE-wuh dee VEG-duh-steh PONG-duh nayth, fur YAI RING-uh. I will write the main points down before I call.
B

Det burde gøre opkaldet tydeligere for jer begge.

Deh BOO-thuh GUHR-uh OB-kel-uth TOO-thuh-LEE-uh foh yair BEH-guh. That should make the call clearer for both of you.

Word by Word

Jeg Jeg means “I” in this dialogue and identifies the person who needs to call. It is used as the subject before the verb, for example in Jeg er nødt til at ringe, when speaking about your own situation.
er Er expresses the current state in Jeg er nødt til at ringe: the speaker is obliged or needs to call. It is the present form of være and is used here before a state or obligation.
nødt til Nødt til expresses being obliged or needing to do something in Jeg er nødt til at ringe. The whole construction combines nødt with til and is reused before at plus an action, such as at ringe; use it when a situation makes an action necessary.
til Til links the necessity to the action in nødt til at ringe and contributes the sense of being obliged to do it. In this dialogue, til also appears in ringe til klinikken, where it points toward the clinic as the person or place being called.
at At marks ringe as the action that follows the expression nødt til. It is used before an infinitive in patterns such as nødt til at ringe, when explaining what someone needs to do.
ringe Ringe means to call or phone in at ringe til klinikken. It is used after at and before the person or place being called, so this is useful when arranging a phone call.
klinikken Klinikken means “the clinic,” specifically the clinic the speaker plans to contact. The form is the definite form of klinik and can be used after ringe til when naming the clinic being called.
fordi Fordi introduces the reason for the call: the speaker needs to call because the cough is not improving. It connects a main statement with a reason clause, such as fordi min hoste ikke bliver bedre.
min Min means “my” and shows that the cough belongs to or concerns the speaker. It comes before hoste and is useful when identifying a personal symptom or possession.
hoste Hoste means “cough,” the symptom discussed in this dialogue. It is used as the subject of min hoste ikke bliver bedre when describing a symptom to a clinic.
ikke Ikke negates bliver bedre, so the cough is not getting better. It normally comes before the part of the sentence being negated, as in hoste ikke bliver bedre.
bliver Bliver expresses a change of state in ikke bliver bedre: the cough is not becoming better. It is the present form of blive and is used here before an adjective describing the new state.
bedre Bedre means “better” in the expression ikke bliver bedre. It describes improvement and can be used after blive when saying that a condition is or is not improving.
Fortæl Fortæl means “tell” and gives a direct instruction to explain information to the clinic staff. It is used at the beginning of a request before the person receiving the information, as in Fortæl dem.
dem Dem means “them” in Fortæl dem and refers to the clinic staff. It is the recipient of the information after Fortæl, useful when telling several people something.
hvad Hvad means “what” and introduces the information that should be reported: what has changed and what worries the speaker. It is used before a clause when asking or referring to unspecified information.
der Der helps introduce the clause hvad der har ændret sig, meaning what has changed. In this pattern it links hvad to the event being described and is useful in clauses about what has happened.
har Har helps form the completed-action expression har ændret sig, referring to a change that has happened. It is the present form of have and is used before a past participle such as ændret.
ændret Ændret means “changed” in hvad der har ændret sig. It is used with har and sig to describe a change that has taken place, for example when reporting recent changes to a doctor.
sig Sig refers back to the thing that has changed in har ændret sig, so the clause means that something has changed. It is used with the verb ændret in this expression when describing a change affecting the subject itself.
og Og means “and” and joins two pieces of information: what has changed and what worries the speaker. It is useful for adding another symptom, fact, or concern in the same statement.
bekymrer Bekymrer means “worries” or “concerns” in hvad der bekymrer dig mest. It is used before the person affected by the concern, dig, and is useful when describing what causes worry.
dig Dig means “you” as the person being worried in bekymrer dig mest. It follows bekymrer in this sentence and is used when addressing one person directly.
mest Mest means “most” and identifies the greatest concern in bekymrer dig mest. It is placed after the expression describing worry and is useful when asking someone to prioritize concerns.
Den Den means “it” in Den er blevet værre and refers back to hoste. The capital letter is due to its position at the start of the sentence, and the form is useful for continuing to discuss the same symptom without repeating the noun.
blevet Blevet means “become” or “gotten” in er blevet værre, describing a change to a worse condition. It is used with er and the adjective værre to report a change that has occurred.
værre Værre means “worse” in Den er blevet værre and indicates that the cough has deteriorated. It is used after blevet when comparing the current condition with the earlier one.
føler Føler means “feel” in føler, at jeg har feber og er træt. It introduces the speaker’s personal physical experience and is useful before at plus a description of how someone feels.
feber Feber means “fever” in jeg har feber. It is used after har to name a symptom and is practical when reporting a possible fever to a healthcare professional.
træt Træt means “tired” in jeg er træt. It describes the speaker’s current condition after er and can be used when listing another symptom alongside fever.
Nævn Nævn means “mention” and gives an instruction to include specific information in the call. It is used before the details to be reported, such as when the problem began.
hvornår Hvornår means “when” and introduces the time information in hvornår det begyndte. It is useful when asking or explaining the point at which a symptom or event started.
det Det refers to the cough, symptoms, or situation in hvornår det begyndte, meaning when it started. It is used as the subject of the clause and can refer back to something already being discussed.
begyndte Begyndte means “started” in hvornår det begyndte. It is used to state when the cough or situation began, which is a relevant detail when speaking to a clinic.
om Om introduces the question of whether anything has helped in om noget har hjulpet. It is used before an alternative or uncertain piece of information, such as asking whether a treatment had an effect.
noget Noget means “anything” in om noget har hjulpet, referring to any possible measure or thing that may have helped. It is used before har hjulpet when the specific helpful thing is not named.
hjulpet Hjulpet means “helped” in om noget har hjulpet. It is used with har to ask whether something has had a helpful effect, for example when reviewing what the person has already tried.
også Også means “also” and adds another need to the earlier information: the speaker additionally needs to know what to do. It is useful for adding a related request or concern.
brug for Brug for expresses needing something in Jeg har også brug for at vide, meaning “I also need to know.” The whole construction combines brug with for and is reused before a noun or an action introduced by at, such as at vide.
vide Vide means “know” in brug for at vide, referring to information the speaker needs. It follows at after brug for and is useful when stating that you need to know what action to take.
skal Skal expresses what the speaker is supposed or required to do in hvad jeg skal gøre. It is used before the action gøre and is useful when asking for instructions or next steps.
gøre Gøre means “do” in hvad jeg skal gøre, asking which action the speaker should take. It follows skal and can be reused in questions about what someone should do in a situation.
hvis Hvis means “if” and introduces the condition hvis det bliver værre i aften. It is used to describe what action or advice applies when a possible situation occurs.
i I means “in” or “at” in i aften and places the worsening in the evening. It is used before a time expression here to say when something may happen.
aften Aften means “evening” in i aften, referring to tonight in the context of the conversation. Together with i, it gives a time when the symptoms might get worse.
Spørg Spørg means “ask” and gives the instruction to request information about where to go. It is used at the beginning of a direct instruction before the question or information being requested.
hvor Hvor means “where” and introduces the place the speaker should go in hvor du skal tage hen. It is useful when asking for a destination or location.
du Du means “you” and refers to the person who may need to seek help. It is the subject before skal tage hen and is used when giving one person advice or instructions.
tage Tage contributes the movement meaning in tage hen: to go somewhere. It follows skal in this sentence and is used with hen when asking or saying where someone should go.
hen Hen adds direction to tage, so tage hen means going to a place or going there. It is useful after a movement verb when the destination is being discussed, as in hvor du skal tage hen.
hurtigt Hurtigt means “quickly” and describes how soon help may be needed in hurtigt får brug for hjælp. It is useful when emphasizing urgency or the need to act without delay.
får Får means “get” in får brug for hjælp, where it describes coming to need help. It is the present form of få and is used before brug for in this expression about developing a need.
hjælp Hjælp means “help” in får brug for hjælp. It names the assistance the person may need and is useful after brug for when asking about urgent support.
skriver Skriver means “write” in Jeg skriver de vigtigste punkter ned. It describes recording information before the call and is useful before the notes or information being written.
de De functions as “the” before the plural phrase de vigtigste punkter. It marks the points as a specific group and is used before a definite plural noun phrase.
vigtigste Vigtigste means “most important” in de vigtigste punkter, identifying which points should be prioritized. It is the superlative form related to vigtig and is used before the noun in this phrase.
punkter Punkter means “points” in de vigtigste punkter, referring to the main pieces of information to remember. It is the plural of punkt and is useful for listing notes or topics.
ned Ned contributes the meaning of writing something down in skriver ... ned. It completes the direction of the writing action and is useful when recording notes for later use.
før Før means “before” and places the writing earlier than the phone call in før jeg ringer. It introduces a time clause and is useful when arranging one action to happen ahead of another.
ringer Ringer means “call” or “phone” in før jeg ringer, referring to the speaker’s planned call. It is used after jeg in the time clause and can describe calling someone or a place.
burde Burde means “should” or “ought to” in Det burde gøre opkaldet tydeligere, expressing an expected result rather than a strict command. It is useful when making a reasonable prediction or giving mild advice.
opkaldet Opkaldet means “the call,” referring to the phone conversation the two adults are preparing for. It is the definite form of opkald and can be used when discussing a specific call.
tydeligere Tydeligere means “clearer” in gøre opkaldet tydeligere, describing an improvement in how understandable the call will be. It is used after gøre when saying that an action will make something clearer.
for For means “for” in tydeligere for jer begge and identifies the people who benefit from the clearer call. It is used before the people affected by a result or benefit.
jer Jer means “you” for more than one person in for jer begge, referring to both adults. It follows for here and is used when addressing or describing a plural group.
begge Begge means “both” and emphasizes that the clearer call will help the two adults together. It follows jer in jer begge and is useful when referring to exactly two people.

Grammar Points

nødt til at + infinitiv

Jeg er nødt til at ringe til klinikken.

YAI air NURT till uh RING-uh till klee-NGUN.

I need to call the clinic.

This fixed expression means “need to” or “be obliged to”; the verb after at stays in the infinitive.

bliver + komparativ

Det bliver bedre, ikke værre.

Deh BLEE-wuh BEH-thruh, EGG-uh VAIR-uh.

It gets better, not worse.

bliver combines with a comparative adjective to describe a change in state, such as bedre or værre.

Danish Vocabulary

bekymrer verb
beh-KOOM-uh worries
bliver bedre phrase
BLEE-wuh BEH-thruh gets better
feber noun
FAY-buh fever
fortæl verb
foh-TEL tell
føler verb
FUR-luh feel
hoste noun
HOSS-duh cough
klinikken noun
klee-NGUN the clinic
nødt til phrase
NURT till need to; be obliged to
ringe verb
RING-uh call
træt adj
TREHT tired
værre adj
VAIR-uh worse
ændret verb
EN-ruth changed

Quiz

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

the clinic

Show Answerklinikken

cough

Show Answerhoste

tell

Show Answerfortæl

worries

Show Answerbekymrer