Scandinavian language challenge day 31

Today I worked through chapter 10 of Danish in three months, covering:

• passive
• impersonal forms
• more on prepositions
• other words

Passive

One version of the passive is formed by replacing the -r ending on the present tense with -s, or by adding -s to the past tense:

Den hest behandles dårligt af sin eier og bruges hårdt
(the horse is treated badly by its owner and is used hard)

The passive can also be used impersonally:
Der drikkes for meget alkohol i dag
(there is too much alcohol drunk today)

The -s ending can’t be used in other tenses.

The other form of the passive uses the verb bli (become) with the past participle.

• de bliver vist (they are shown)
• hun blev husket (she was remembered)
• lyset er blevet slukket (the light has been turned off)

The past participle can also be used adjectivally:
Lyset er / var slukket (the light is / was off)

The passive can be avoided by using the impersonal man:
Man behandler den hest dårligt.

Impersonal Forms

• det regner (it’s raining)
• det øser ned (it’s pouring)
• det sner (it’s snowing)
• det lyner og tordner (there’s lightning and thunder)
• det klør (I’m itching)
• det går darligt (things are going badly)
• det siges, at vi får en kold vinter (it is said we will have a cold winter)
• det var mig, som gjorde det (it was me who did it)

Der is the equivalent of impersonal English there:

• Der er ingen tvivl om hans ærlighed
  (there is no doubt about his honesty)

Some impersonal expressions have a personal subject in English:
det glæder mig at høre det (I’m pleased to hear it)

Phrases using det (or colloquially den):

• hav det sjovt – og rart (have fun – and a nice time)
• den går ikke, gamle dreng (that won’t do, old boy)
• det skal guderne vide (goodness knows, the gods must know)

More on prepositions

Some uses of for:

• søg ly for blæsten (take shelter from the wind)
• dag for dag (day by day)
• hvad er det for noget (what is that)
• jeg ku’ ikke gøre for det (i coudn’t help it
• for at (in order to): jeg kommer for at hente dig (I’m coming to fetch you)

Some uses of med (with):

• tag med tog (go by train)
• med andre ord (in other words
• skidt med det! (never mind)
• med mindre (unless)

Some uses of over:

• På kortet over London ser du broen over Themsen
  (on the map of London you see the bridge over the Thames)
• klag over det (complain about it)
• vi vandt over dem (we defeated them)
• er du kommet over din forkølelse? (Have you got over your cold?)

Some uses of til (to, for):

• det er telefon til dig (there’s a phone call for you)
• til gavn for landet (for the benefit of the country)
• Hvad siger du til det? (What do you say about that?)
• til venstre (on the left)
• god til at læse dansk (good at reading Danish)
• vant til at blive adlydt (used to being obeyed
• Folk var nødt til at spise bark (poeple had to eat bark)
• jeg skulle lige til at gøre det (I was just about to do it)
• Har du lagt mærke til, at det er meget dyrere end for ti år siden at leve over evne ?
  (Have you noticed that it is much more expensive than ten years ago to live above your means?
• Undskyld, jeg kom til at drikke din Champagne
  (sorry, I happened to drink your champagne)

Hos (with, at) = French chez, German bei.

Some of the other words in this chapter

Some of the compounds in this chapter: bedstefar (grandfather); oldemødre (grandmothers); barnebarn (grandchild, plural børnebørn); barnevogn (pram); brugtvogn (used car); bilværksted (garage); hjem vendt (returned home); udenfor (outside); bagved (behind); hurtigtog (fast train); overnatte (stay overnight); en børnehave (n-r, nursery school); dyereven (-ner, animal lover)

Nouns: forhandler (dealer); en skjorte -r, (shirt); en lygte (lamp); øjeblik (moment); et skib (-e, ship); paaseger (-er, passenger); en færge (-r, ferry); told (customs duty); lærer (male teacher); et indkøb (-, purchase shopping); en handske (-r, glove);

Other nouns: en forbryder (-, criminal); et lys (-e, light, candle); en pelskåbe (–r, fur coat)

Verbs: samle (gather); hade (hate); vaske (wash); feje (sweep = German fegen); tænde (light = German zünden?); nyde (enjoy = German geniessen); betale (pay); betale sig (pay, be worth it); beholde (keep); hjælpe (help)

Other verbs: trænger til (need); køre (drive); omtale (talk about); trække vejr (draw breath, breathe); foretrække (pref)

Adjectives: mørkegrå (dark grey); lyseblå (light blue); hård (hard); tankefuld (thoughtful); forsigtig (careful); tilfældig (chance = German zufällig); farlovet (engaged = German verlobt); gal (mad); død (dead); kedelig (boring); blæsende (windy); samme (same)

Other words: væk (away); som om (as if); huske (remember); en hel del (a lot); ked af det (sorry); nede (down)