h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*bounces thread up*

I think, and I've checked with other learners, that it would be easier for us to learn and apply what we can see, if it's infront of us. So like...written lists of

I:
you:
He/she/it:
we:
They:
you plural:

etc etc.

It's much better that way. I know that makes work for you lot, but hey

One of the nicest things when you learn Danish is that those lists would look like this:

I/you/he/she/it/we/they/you: ...

It's all the same!

How can that work!! That's like...like...using "one" for everything!

Doesn't one find that one gets terribly confused when one is talking to one and one all laugh at one because one can't converse with one properly.

Erm... well, maybe I misunderstood your list. Actually it's *almost* as easy in English.
I thought you meant to put something behind I/you/he/etc., which makes sense when you learn for example German or French, but not for Danish:

I run - jeg løber
you run - du/De løber
he/she/it runs - han/hun/den/det løber
we run - vi løber
you run - I løber
they run - de løber

Jeg er en kat!

Where are all those people who wanted to learn Danish!? I found Danish people, I made a page...I can't do much more if you don't come here and learn!

*pulls out some desks and chairs and sits at one with a pencil in hand*

Hej allesammen
(Hi everybody)

I would like to join as a teacher, and I will introduce myself:

Jeg hedder Norbera. Jeg er seksten år og jeg bor i Danmark.
My name is Norbera. I'm sixteen years old and I live in Denmark.

That's not very complicated, at least not if you are danish

Well at last I should say that my main problem as a teacher, is that I'm not that good at english

-Norbera

Heya! I'm sure you'll be absolutely fine. Feel free to teach anything you like, bearing in mind that we're beginners. Some of the things that have been taught I have to admit have gone straight over my head. Maybe I'm not paying attention enough.

Besides I'm assessing everyone to see how often they're around and how well they teach to decide who should be the head of the department.

Thank you!

Then I think that I would begin, by saying, that we in danish have 2 genders. They are called the common gender and the neuter gender, and they goes like this:


a table - et bord
a house - et hus

a car - en bil
a dog - en hund

Well that was the word for a/an (en/et)

When you want to say "the house", you just sort of take the (en/et), and put it behind the word:

the table - bordet
the house - huset

the car - bilen
the dog - hunden

notice the endings...

Farvel fra nu
(Buy for now)

Velkommen Norbera [Welcome Norbera - though I guess everyone had that figured out )

I'm still pondering how to explain to pronounce the words.

I know there is a phonetic 'language' for instance in dictionaries - but it doesn't enlighten me

I had a look at the mandarin-thing and it seems sensible to try and explain the sounds with the eqivalent in English words. It requires time, though. And how to explain the glottal stop is beyond me this cold and wet morning.

And x-mas is knocking on the door.

Christmas = jul (j is pronounced as the first sound in 'yes' - u like the double oo in fool - and l like in fool.) yool - Like the actor Youl (sp?) Brunner - but cut the vowel and the word short.

Åh - og hej Norbera. Har du besøgt de Nordiske Researcheres Klub?

Oh - and hi Norbera. Have you visited the Nordic Researchers Club?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A614567

Tak for velkomsten Tartaronne & Santragenius!

(Thanks for the welcome Tartaronne & Santragenius!)

No haven't yet visited the Nordic Researchers Club, but it's only a matter of minuts before I will... didn't know there was such a club before this afternoon.

As to the pronunciation I can see that it's a tricky one , guess people just have to come visit us...

Jeg hedder Hati og jeg er ester. Jeg kan ikke tale dansk.
I am Hati and I am Estonian. I can't speak Danish.

Men det ser ud til at du kan skrive dansk?

(But it seems like you can write danish?)

"ser", is the present form of the verb "at se", which means "to see/look"

I see a man - jeg ser en mand
I look at the man - jeg ser på manden

Jeg laeste dansk sidste ar. Men det vaeret ikke tilstraekkelig. Jeg har en ordbog.
I learnt Danish last year. But this was not enough. I have a dictionary.

(And I am too lazy for trying to remember the numbers for Danish characters. Umm, and please correct all the mistakes I made. )

OK

(was close though)

Only thing: Men det _var_ ikke tilstrækkeligt...

('var' is past tense of 'at være' = 'to be')

To be / at være

I am / jeg er
I was / jeg var
I have been / jeg har været
I had been / jeg havde været

Irregular verbs are tricky.

Meget sandt, men det er vel grunden til at vi elsker dem?
(very true, but that may be the reason why we love them?)

Vores grammatik er vanskeligere.
Our grammar is more complicated.