Modality

Question 1

kan

[kan OR ken]

Answer 1

can / are able to

Question 2

må

[moh]

Answer 2

may / must

its paste tense version is of ‘måtte’ {allowed]

Question 3

kunne

[kew-nuh]

Answer 3

could / were able to

Question 4

skal

[skell]

Answer 4

must / shall / should

Question 5

skulle

[sgew-luh]

Answer 5

should / supposed / be supposed to

Question 6

TRUE OR FALSE:
Modal verbs (can, may, shall, will, etc.) are auxiliary, meaning they modify the verb and express whether the action described is seen as a plan, intention, prediction, permission, and so forth.

Answer 6

TRUE

Question 7

TRUE OR FALSE:

In Danish, the modal verbs leave out the infinitive word ‘at’ when combined with infinitive verbs

Answer 7

TRUE:
‘Kan du høre hende synge?’ meaning ‘can you hear her sing?’
‘Jeg kunne ikke høre hende synge’ meaning ‘I could not hear her sing.’

Question 8

TRUE OR FALSE:
‘May’ and ‘must’ are often translated into the same word: ‘må.’ Therefore the difference from English is described through the rest of the sentence.

Answer 8

TRUE:
‘Må jeg spørge dig om noget?’ meaning ‘may I ask you about something?’
‘Hun må være meget glad’ meaning ‘she must be very happy.’

Question 9

TRUE OR FALSE:

The past and conditional of ‘må’ is ‘måtte’:

Answer 9

TRUE:

‘Hun måtte ikke spise mere’ meaning ‘she was not allowed to eat any more.’

Question 10

TRUE OR FALSE:

The past and conditional of ‘skal’ is ‘skulle.’ This word covers a lot of meanings.

Answer 10

TRUE:
A plan, system, suggestion, or agreement: ‘Du skulle prøve det!’ meaning ‘you should try it!’
Usually with the word nok: A promise or an assurance: ‘Du skal nok blive god’ meaning ‘you will be good (I assure you!)’
The pattern behind a behavior: ‘Hvorfor skal du altid lytte?’ meaning ‘why do you always have to listen?’
A common opinion: ‘H.C. Andersen skulle være god’ meaning ‘Hans Christian Andersen should be good (I heard it from my friends)’
A feared scenario: ‘Jeg er bange at han en dag skal falde’ meaning ‘I fear that he shall one day fall’

Question 11

TRUE OR FALSE:

‘Skal’ is also used for describing transport or intent:

Answer 11

TRUE:
‘Jeg skal til Danmark (I am going to Denmark)
Jeg skal flyve til England (I will be flying to England)
Du skal hjem nu (you are going home now)
Vi skal ud at løbe (we are going to go running).

Question 12

da

[dah]

Answer 12

1. Really / certainly / after all / is it (modality)

2. since / when

Question 13

vist

[vissed]

Answer 13

probably / supposedly / I think

Question 14

burde

[boa{r}d-eh]

Answer 14

ought / should

Question 15

bør

[bu{rr}]

Answer 15

ought / should

Question 16

tør

[too-uh OR tou{r}]

Answer 16

dare

its paste tense version is ‘turde’

Question 17

måtte

[mud-dih]

Answer 17

was/were allowed to (permission)

paste tense of ‘må’ {may]

Question 18

vil

[vihl]

Answer 18

will / want / wants

Question 19

nok

[knock]

Answer 19

probably / sufficient / enough

Question 20

turde

[tou{r}ed]

Answer 20

did dare

paste tense version of ‘tør’

Question 21

være med

[vay-uh mið]

Answer 21

to join

Question 22

TRUE OR FALSE:

In Danish you CAN’T combine modal verbs (can, may, shall, will, etc.)

Answer 22

FALSE, you CAN combine modal verbs:

‘Du skal kunne tale dansk’ meaning ‘you must be able to speak Danish,’ where ‘kunne’ becomes ‘be able to.’

Question 23

TRUE OR FALSE:

The Danish word ‘vil’ can express a want, an intention or demand, or an opinion or prediction.

Answer 23

TRUE

Question 24

TRUE OR FALSE:
Even though English uses ‘will’ to indicate future aspects, this is not the case for Danish. In Danish, it is only used to describe future actions if you want to underline an intention or opinion.

Answer 24

TRUE:

‘Han kommer senere’ becomes ‘he will come later.’

Question 25

TRUE OR FALSE:

The past and conditional of ‘vil’ is ‘ville’

Answer 25

TRUE

‘Ville han komme herhen?’ meaning ‘would he come over here?’

Question 26

jo

[yo]

Answer 26

1. yes / certainly / indeed
2. why / you see
3. used to convey a sense of obviousness (equivalent to ‘as you know’)