Progressive Actions

Question 1

TRUE OR FALSE:
The ‘progressive aspect’ of actions describes something that is happening over an extended period of time (I’m sleeping. OR I was reading a book.). The progressive aspect is also often used when another action interrupts an on-going event (I was eating when a ninja appeared in the window).

Answer 1

TRUE

Question 2

TRUE OR FALSE:
In Danish, there are a number of different phrasing constructs used in expressing on-going events (aka: progressive aspect).

Answer 2

TRUE

Question 3

er ved at …

[ai{r} við at]

Answer 3

is about to become … / becoming … / in the midst of becoming …

Question 4

står og taler

[stow o tay-luh]

Answer 4

stand and speaks (expressing continuousness of speaking)

Question 5

sidder og spiser

[sið-uh o sbees-uh]

Answer 5

sits and eats (expressing continuousness of eating)

Question 6

TRUE OR FALSE:
Danes often use either one of the verbs ‘står,’ ‘sidder,’ ‘ligger,’ and ‘går’ together with the verb that describes the thing we are also doing to express that we do it right now.

Answer 6

TRUE
For example:
‘Jeg sidder og læser’ is literally ‘I’m sitting and reading’
‘Han står og snakker’ is literally ‘He’s standing and talking’
‘De ligger og sover’ is literally ‘They’re lying and sleeping’

Question 7

TRUE OR FALSE:
The occurrence of ‘lige’ to a sentence is sometimes unimportant, BUT it can also change the meaning from something being done in the present to that someone is busy doing something and must not be interrupted.

Answer 7

TRUE:
2 examples:

Question: 'Må jeg spørge om noget?' (May I ask about something?)
Answer: 'Nej, jeg sidder lige og læser.' (No, I'm busy reading.)

 Question: 'Hvad laver du?' (What are you doing?)  Answer: 'Jeg sidder lige og læser' (I'm reading.)

Question 8

TRUE OR FALSE:
You will often see that the word ‘lige’ is added BEFORE the first verb in a sentence to someone is busy performing that action

Answer 8

FALSE: it is added AFTER the first verb

'Jeg sidder lige og læser.'   =  I'm (busy) reading.
'Han står lige og snakker.'   I'm (occupied with) talking.
'De ligger lige og sover.' = I'm (engaged in) sleeping.

Question 9

…i færd med…

[e fai{r} mið]

Answer 9

..in the midst of… (expressing continuousness)

Question 10

hvilken som helst

[veal-kin sum helsd]

Answer 10

whichever

Question 11

TRUE OR FALSE:
The best translation for ‘i gang med’, ‘i færd med’ and ‘at være ved noget’ would be either ‘in the midst of’ or to add -ing to the verb stem.

Answer 11

TRUE.
They all mean the same, but ‘i gang med’ and ‘at være ved noget’ is used more often both in written and spoken language whereas ‘i færd med’ occurs less often – you are most likely to find this phrase in Danish literature.

Question 12

TRUE OR FALSE:

‘at være ved at’ is a little different from ‘i gang med’ and ‘i færd med’ – it can also mean to be about to something

Answer 12

TRUE:
Jeg er lige ved at forstå. = I’m just about to understand.
Jeg er ved at være færdig. = I’m about to be done.

Question 13

NOUN …i gang med at… VERB

[e gang mið at]

Answer 13

‘in the midst of’ OR add -ing to the verb stem

Question 14

NOUN …i færd med at… VERB

[e fai{r} mið at]

Answer 14

‘in the midst of’ OR add -ing to the verb stem

Question 15

NOUN …at være ved noget… VERB

[at vai{r} við no-ið]

Answer 15

‘in the midst of’ OR add -ing to the verb stem

Question 16

TRUE OR FALSE:
‘være ved at blive’ means ‘is about to become’, ‘becoming’ or ‘in the midst of becoming’ – sometimes it can mean all three things at once!

Answer 16

TRUE:
Det er ved at blive mørkt. = It’s getting dark.
Det er lige ved at blive mørkt. = It’s just about to become dark.
Han er ved at blive en mand. = He is becoming a man or he is in the midst of becoming a man.

Question 17

NOUN …være ved at blive… VERB

[vai{r} við at blee]

Answer 17

…is about to become…

Question 18

TRUE OR FALSE:
There is no accurate translation and the meaning will change according to the sentence’s structure and the situation. This is one of the queer things of the Danish language, that you can only come to understand with time.

Answer 18

TRUE

It is one of the queer things of the Danish language, that you can only come to understand with time.