Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Gina: Hello and welcome back to DanishClass101.com. This is Absolute Beginner season 1, lesson 22, Talking About Your Habits in Danish. I’m Gina.
Anna: Hej! And I’m Anna.
Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about doing a habitual action using verbs in the present tense.
Anna: This would be something you do out of habit—for long periods, or for life.
Gina: So let’s get started!
Anna: The conversation takes place in William’s room and it’s between William and Peter.
Gina: The speakers are friends, and they’re speaking standard Danish. Let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
William: Drikker du sodavand?
Peter: Ja, jeg elsker sodavand!
William: Det gør jeg også.
Peter: Ser du amerikansk fodbold?
William: Nej, jeg ser Champions League.
Gina: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly.
William: Drikker du sodavand?
Peter: Ja, jeg elsker sodavand!
William: Det gør jeg også.
Peter: Ser du amerikansk fodbold?
William: Nej, jeg ser Champions League.
Gina: Now let’s hear it with the English translation.
William: Drikker du sodavand?
Gina: Do you drink soda pop?
Peter: Ja, jeg elsker sodavand!
Gina: Yes, I love soda pop!
William: Det gør jeg også.
Gina: So do I.
Peter: Ser du amerikansk fodbold?
Gina: Do you watch American football?
William: Nej, jeg ser Champions League.
Gina: No, I watch Champions League.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Gina: Okay, since Denmark is a soccer crazy nation, let’s talk a little about Danish sports bars.
Anna: Sure. Danish sports bars are quite similar to British or Irish pubs, so instead of sports bars, they're often just called pubs.
Gina: So this is where the Danes come together and watch soccer?
Anna: Many people do, because it’s much more fun to watch matches with other fans than on your own.
Gina: Agreed. Do they serve food there too?
Anna: Larger places serve meals, but usually you can only get snacks and beverages.
Gina: Sounds like a great place!
Anna: You won’t be bored! Besides happy hours, you might be able to attend karaoke nights, watch live music performances, or play pool or darts.
Gina: Are the staff British or Irish too?
Anna: Some staff members are. But Danes also work there.
Gina: Awesome, sounds like a fun place to go! Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Gina: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Anna: drikke [natural native speed]
Gina: drink
Anna: drikke [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: drikke [natural native speed]
Next:
Anna: du [natural native speed]
Gina: you
Anna: du [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: du [natural native speed]
Next:
Anna: sodavand [natural native speed]
Gina: fizzy drink, soda pop
Anna: sodavand [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: sodavand [natural native speed]
Next:
Anna: Ja. [natural native speed]
Gina: Yes.
Anna: Ja. [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: Ja. [natural native speed]
Next:
Anna: jeg [natural native speed]
Gina: I
Anna: jeg [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: jeg [natural native speed]
Next:
Anna: elske [natural native speed]
Gina: love
Anna: elske [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: elske [natural native speed]
Next:
Anna: gøre [natural native speed]
Gina: do, make
Anna: gøre [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: gøre [natural native speed]
And Last:
Anna: også [natural native speed]
Gina: also, too, as well
Anna: også [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Anna: også [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Gina: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. What’s first?
Anna: First we have drikke. [pause] Drikke.
Gina: This is the verb “drink” and it’s used just like in English.
Anna: In present tense, it becomes drikker with the present tense -r at the end. In past tense, you change the vowel -i to -a so it becomes drak, and in past participle and past perfect you change the vowel to -u so it becomes drukket.
Gina: Can you repeat them for our listeners?
Anna: Sure. Drikker.
Gina: Which means “drink” or “drinks.”
Anna: Drak.
Gina: Which means “drank.”
Anna: And drukket.
Gina: Which means “drunk.”
Anna: Drikker. [pause] Drak. [pause] Drukket. Remember to use the auxiliary verb have in present tense with the past participle, so it becomes har drukket. [pause] Har drukket.
Gina: This means “have drunk” or “has drunk.”
Anna: With the past perfect it becomes havde drukket. [pause] Havde drukket.
Gina: This means “had drunk.” What’s next?
Anna: Sodavand. [pause] Sodavand.
Gina: This is the common gender noun “fizzy drink” or “soda pop.”
Anna: It’s also an uncountable or mass noun, so in the plural it’s also sodavand.
Gina: What about the definite plural form, “the fizzy drinks” or “the soda pops”?
Anna: That’s sodavandene. [pause] Sodavandene.
Gina: What’s next?
Anna: Gøre. [pause] Gøre.
Gina: This is the irregular verb “do” or “make.” So what is it in present tense?
Anna: Gør. [pause] Gør.
Gina: And in past tense?
Anna: Gjorde. [pause] Gjorde.
Gina: And in past participle and past perfect?
Anna: Gjort. [pause] Gjort.
Gina: The verb most commonly means “do,” right?
Anna: Yes, but it means “make” in phrases such as gøre et godt indtryk, which means “make a good impression.”
Gina: One more time please.
Anna: Gøre et godt indtryk. [pause] Gøre et godt indtryk. Breaking it down, Gøre means “make,” et is the indefinite article “a,” godt is the adjective “good” in t-form, and indtryk is the neuter gender noun “impression.”
Gina: Great! Okay, now onto the grammar.
GRAMMAR POINT
Gina: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about doing a habitual action using verbs in the present tense.
Anna: Danes usually express habitual action by using verbs in the present tense.
Gina: Can you give us an example?
Anna: Jeg spiser stærk mad. [pause] Jeg spiser stærk mad.
Gina: This means “I eat spicy food.”
Anna: Breaking this down, Jeg means “I,” spiser is the verb “eat” in present tense, stærk means “spicy,” and mad means “food.”
Gina: In what other way can you talk about habitual actions?
Anna: You can use the verb pleje, which means “use to.” In present tense, it’s plejer. [pause] Plejer.
Gina: And to make sense in English, we translate it to the adverb “usually.”
Anna: You follow plejer with the infinitive marker at, or “to” in English, and then a verb in infinitive.
Gina: Can you give us an example?
Anna: Han plejer at sove over sig. [pause] Han plejer at sove over sig.
Gina: This means “He usually oversleeps.”
Anna: Breaking this down, Han means “he,” plejer means “usually,” though it’s a verb in Danish, at means “to,” and sove over sig means “oversleep.”
Gina: In English, the infinitive becomes present tense to make sense.
Anna: So even though sove over sig is the infinitive “oversleep,” in this case it’s “oversleeps” in English.
Gina: This part can be a bit tricky. So how do you talk about past habitual action?
Anna: When talking about something that is no longer a habit, you use verbs in past tense.
Gina: Can you give us an example?
Anna: Hun drak kun vand til maden i et år. [pause] Hun drak kun vand til maden i et år.
Gina: This means “She only drank water with her meals for a year.”
Anna: Hun means “she,” drak means “drank,” kun means “only,” vand means “water,” til means “with,” maden means “meals or the food,” i means “for,” et means “a,” and år means “year.”
Gina: You can emphasize that you’re talking about a habitual action in the past by adding an expression of time.
Anna: In this case it’s i et år, which means “for a year.”
Gina: Can you also just use that verb pleje in past tense?
Anna: Yes, because pleje means “use to,” so in past tense it becomes “used to.”
Gina: NOT “usually,” like when in present tense. But you still follow it with the infinitive marker at and then a verb in infinitive. For example…
Anna: Du plejede at løbe så hurtigt. [pause] Du plejede at løbe så hurtigt.
Gina: This means “You used to run so fast.”
Anna: Breaking it down, Du means “you,” plejede means “used to,” at løbe means “to run,” så means “so,” and hurtigt means “fast.”

Outro

Gina: Okay, listeners, that’s all for now.
Anna: Check out the lesson notes for more examples and information!
Gina: Until next time, thanks for listening. Bye!
Anna: Vi ses!

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