English - Danish translation

English to Danish: distinguish the reader, the owner, and the explanation

One English pronoun can become du or I

English you does not distinguish one recipient from several. Danish normally uses du for one person and I for a group; the plural I is capitalized. A reminder sent to several colleagues may therefore need different pronouns from an otherwise identical reminder to one colleague. Identify the actual recipients rather than choosing whichever form appears first in a dictionary.

Danish De is a formal address form, but it should not be inserted automatically whenever an English message sounds polite. Ordinary du-based correspondence can still be considerate. “Could you send me the address?” can be “Kan du sende mig adressen?” in a du relationship. An existing exchange is a better guide to address than a blanket assumption about every customer or workplace.

English his leaves an ownership question open

Danish sin, sit, and sine can connect a possession to a third-person singular subject. Hans or hendes normally points to a different owner in the relevant construction. “He took his bag” can be “Han tog sin taske” if the man took his own bag. The same English wording could instead mean another man’s bag, which calls for different Danish wording.

The possessive changes with the possessed noun’s gender and number, not simply with the owner. Do not replace every his with hans. In an instruction about collecting a child’s belongings or returning a colleague’s device, an explicit owner’s name may resolve an ambiguity that English leaves unmarked.

A reason changes where ikke belongs

Danish subordinate clauses place ordinary sentence negation before the finite verb. “I know that she cannot come” can be “Jeg ved at hun ikke kan komme.” The ikke sits before kan inside the clause introduced by at. In a normal main statement, negation instead follows the finite verb. English do not does not supply a separate Danish do auxiliary to insert.

The movement is small but important in conditional instructions. Check whether a negative belongs to the reported fact, the main request, or one alternative. A condition that says an item is unavailable must not become an instruction not to order an otherwise available item.

Do not force one English comma system onto Danish

Danish permits systems with or without a comma at the start of subordinate clauses, with rules governing consistent application. A source comma is therefore not a reliable instruction to place a Danish comma in the same spot. Keep one target punctuation practice throughout the message instead of switching between systems.

Also preserve æ, ø, and å when copying names and addresses. These letters are part of the spelling that a recipient may need for a lookup or delivery. If an external form cannot accept them, keep the original spelling alongside any necessary technical transliteration rather than silently changing the name everywhere.