You'll find more information about the guide and an overview of the topics it covers on the main page.
The list is arranged alphabetically in Danish. You can either look up particular words or phrases that are causing you trouble (ctr + F), or you can browse alphabetically. We recommend that you familiarise yourself with the list by reading through it. You’re bound to find pits you’ve fallen into already without even knowing it. Once you’ve familiarised yourself with the contents of the list, you can return to it to refresh your memory as needed.
Danish expression | Pitfall/false friend | Correct translation | ||
| aktivitetstype | activity type | type of activity | ||
aktuel | actual (e.g. the actual situation) | current, present (e.g. the current situation) | ||
allerede | already | Avoid Danicisms such as ‘Already Napoleon believed in European unity’. Instead write ‘Napoleon believed in European unity a long time ago’ or something similar. | ||
ansætte; ansættelse | appoint/employ; appointment/employment | There’s a difference between these two: 'appointment' refers to the moment at which you are appointed, while 'employment' refers to the state of being employed. (e.g. ‘I was appointed on 2 October, and my employment lasts until 3 March’) | ||
Ansøgninger skal godkendes af studienævnet | Applications must be approved by the board of studies | Applications are subject to the approval of the board of studies | ||
bedømmelsesform | assessment form | form of assessment | ||
betragte som | consider as | regard as/consider to be (e.g. ‘This group can be regarded as/considered to be underprivileged’) | ||
bidrage med | contribute with | contribute (e.g. ‘The researchers contributed their ideas to the conference’) | ||
censor | censor | external/internal co-examiner | ||
den enkelte (f.eks. 'den enkelte studerende') | the individual student | the student in question | ||
Det afhænger af mange ting. | That depends of many things. | That depends on many things. | ||
Det bruges i stadig flere uddannelser. | It is used in still more degree programmes. | It is used in an increasing number of degree programmes. | ||
det enkelte uddannelseselement | the individual subject element | the degree (programme) element in question | ||
Det er godt med frugtbart samarbejde. | It is good with fruitful cooperation. | Fruitful cooperation is a good thing. | ||
Det hjælper på det. | It’s helping. | Things are getting better. | ||
dispensation | exemption | dispensation (‘exemption’ can also mean fritagelse) | ||
effektiv | effective | efficient (high output in relation to input) effective (having an effect) | ||
egen (e.g. 'De studerende skal tage ansvar for egen læring' | own | their own ( ‘Students must take responsibility for their own learning') | ||
eksamensform | exam form | form of examination | ||
eksamenssprog | exam language | language of examination | ||
eksaminationstid | exam duration | duration of examination | ||
Emnet skal godkendes af vejlederen. | The topic must be approved by the supervisor. | The topic is subject to the approval of the supervisor. | ||
en større konference | a larger conference | a major conference | ||
erfaring med | experience with | experience of (e.g. ‘Stalin already had some experience of the problem’) | ||
et halvt år | half a year | six months | ||
eventuelt | eventually | possibly | ||
forskellige ideer | different ideas | different ideas (in relation to a group of other ideas, anderledes) various ideas (different in relation to each other) | ||
fremmed universitet | a foreign university | a university outside Denmark, a university abroad | ||
halvandet år | one and a half year | one and a half years, eighteen months | ||
Har du kommentarer til min artikel? | Have you got any comments to my article? | Have you got any comments on my article? | ||
historisk | historic | historical (to do with history) historic (memorable) | ||
hus | house | building house (a single-family home) | ||
i begyndelsen af det 21. århundrede | in the beginning of the 21st century | at the beginning of the 21st century | ||
i disse år | in these years | at the current time | ||
i mine øjne | in my eyes | in my view | ||
invitere til | invite to | invite (e.g. ‘The idea invites discussion of the whole concept’) | ||
Jeg er vant til at høre de argumenter. | I am used to hear those arguments. | I am used to hearing those arguments. | ||
Jeg oplever, at … | I experience that … | I feel that … | ||
kandidat | candidate | Use ‘candidate’ for people applying for a job, but ‘graduate’ for people who have completed a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. | ||
klassisk | classic | classical (music, for instance) classic (one of a kind) You could have a ‘classic’ Rolling Stones concert, but they would be extremely unlikely to play classical music. | ||
kommentarer til | comments to | comments on (e.g. ‘Have you got any comments on my article?’) | ||
kvalificere | qualify | Rephrase: ‘To base a debate on firmer foundations’, for instance | ||
kvalificeret dialog | qualified dialogue | dialogue on a highly qualified basis (this is because ‘qualified’ can also mean med forbehold) | ||
mindre | smaller | minor (when no actual comparison is involved - e.g. ‘I have a few minor amendments to make’) | ||
nemlig | namely | Just use a colon instead of 'namely'. | ||
noter til artiklen | notes to the article | notes on the article | ||
nuanceret | nuanced | in a suitably varied/detailed fashion (e.g. ‘to express yourself in suitably varied/detailed fashion’) | ||
Nu hjælper det! | Now it’s helping! | Things are getting better! | ||
på den ene/anden side | on the one/other side | on the one/other hand | ||
realisere | realise | achieve (e.g. ‘to achieve your goals’). ‘Realise’ can be problematic, because you could ‘realise’ that you had made a mistake, for instance. However, note the correct use of ‘realise’ in ‘to realise your assets’. | ||
risikere at | risk to | risk + -ing (e.g. ‘If we do that, we risk running into further problems’) | ||
sammenlignet med | compared with | compared with (to underline a difference) compared to (to underline a similarity) | ||
selv om | even if/even though | ‘Even if he comes I won’t be happy’ (He might or might not come, but I won’t be happy whatever happens.) ‘Even though he came I was not happy’ (He came, but I still wasn’t happy.) | ||
selvstudium | self-study | autonomous/independent study | ||
stadig flere | still more | an increasing number of (e.g. ‘This is used in an increasing number of degree programmes’) | ||
studier | studies | Note the following examples: ‘I am tired of my studies’ (I'm tired of studying in generall) ‘I am tired of my degree programme’ (specifically) | ||
større | larger | major (when no actual comparison is involved). Avoid the use of the Danish ‘false comparative’. | ||
synlig tilstedeværelse | a visible presence | a high profile. Avoid using ‘visible’ in a metaphorical sense. It can be used in a literal sense though (e.g. ‘The police had a visible presence in Christiania’) | ||
synspunkter | point of views | points of view | ||
sympatisk | sympathetic | likeable | ||
Sådan ser min forskning ud | This is how my research looks | This is what my research looks like | ||
såsom for eksempel | such as for example | such as | ||
tillader | allows for | allows, permits | ||
til trods for beviserne | despite of the evidence | in spite of/despite the evidence | ||
tre typer artikler | three types of articles | three types of article (The same thing applies to ‘kinds of’, ‘categories of’ etc.) | ||
uddannelse | education | Note the following examples: ‘Education is good for you’ (education as a general concept) ‘I love my degree programme’ (specific reference) | ||
udenlandsk studerende | foreign student | students from outside Denmark, students from abroad, international students | ||
udenlandsk universitet | a foreign university | a university outside Denmark, a university abroad | ||
udlænding | foreigner | non-Dane | ||
udmeldte studerende | withdrawn students | Students who have withdrawn from the university. If you need to save space (in a table, for instance), you could just write ‘withdrawals’ | ||
uhåndgribelig | immaterial | intangible | ||
Vil du læse din præsentation op? | Will you read your presentation up? | Will you read your presentation aloud? | ||
vise sig at være | show to be | prove to be (e.g. 'The current situation has proved to be more serious than we first assumed') | ||
økonomisk | economic | economic (if you are talking about nationaløkonomi) financial (personal finances, the university’s finances) economical (low consumption of resources, ‘an economical car with low petrol consumption’) | ||
Non-native speakers of English tend to confuse adjectives and adverbs. Both add detail to a sentence by providing additional information about other words.
| Correct example |
|---|
| A pretty house |
| The department produces ground-breaking research. |
| Given the international focus of the programme. |
Some adjectives end in –ly. These cannot be used as adverbs.
| Correct example | Incorrect example |
|---|---|
| costly, cowardly, deadly, friendly, likely, lively, lonely, lovely, silly, ugly, unlikely (adjectives) | costlily, cowardlily, deadlily…. (non-existent adverbs) |
Get around this problem by rephrasing:
| Correct example | Incorrect example |
|---|---|
| She smiled in a friendly way. | She smiled friendlily. |
| He gave a silly laugh. | He laughed sillily. |
Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, other adverbs and sentences. Adverbs are easily recognised because they end in -ly (with a few exceptions). Most adjectives can be turned into adverbs through the addition of the suffix –ly.And generally, if a word answers the question how, it is an adverb.
| Correct example | Incorrect example |
|---|---|
| She was walking slowly. (How was she walking?) | She was walking slow. |
| The degree is offered internationally. |
| Correct example | Incorrect example |
|---|---|
| She was really happy. (How happy was she?) | She was real happy. |
| Given the increasingly competitive atmosphere of the programme…. | Given the increasing competitive atmosphere of the programme…. |
| Correct example | Incorrect example |
|---|---|
| She spoke very loudly. (How did she speak?) | She spoke real loud. |
| The dancer leaped breathtakingly high. | The dancer leaped breathtaking high. |
Examples of adverbs modifying sentences:
| Correct example | Incorrect example |
|---|---|
| Surprisingly, Stalin failed to annex Belgium before finishing his vodka. | Surprising, Stalin failed to annex Belgium before finishing his vodka. |
Adverbs and adjectives that have the same form
Some adjectives and adverbs have the same form: for example, a fast car goes fast – or, if you do hard work, you work hard.
| Correct example |
|---|
| A fast car… (adjective) |
| The car goes fast. (adverb) |
| This is hard work. (adjective) |
| You work too hard. (adverb) |
For more help with adverbs and adjectives, please consult Swan’s Practical English Usage (sections 12-19 and 20-25).
-ing forms of verbs can be used as nouns, in which case they are called gerunds. They can also be used as adjectives, in which case they are called participles. Participles are particularly challenging for non-native speakers of English.
Of course, gerunds can be problematic in their own way. To find out more, see the Purdue Owl Online Writing Lab article on gerunds, participles and infinitives.
An -ing form of a verb that is used as an adjective (Past participles ending in -ed, -en, -d, -t, -n or -ne can also be used as modifiers, but that’s another story.).
Being verbal forms, participles express action or a state of being. But grammatically they function as adjectives:
| Correct example |
|---|
| the burning platform |
| the purring cat |
| the continuing process |
You can use participles to construct more or less complex participial clauses that modify nouns:
| Correct example |
|---|
| Removing his coat, Nick returned to his seat. |
| Arriving at the restaurant, I found that it was closed. |
| Carrying a heavy bag of groceries, he caught his foot on a step and tripped. |
| Correct example | Incorrect example |
|---|---|
| Coming down the stairs for dinner, I smelled the cinnamon buns. (The participial phrase modifies 'I', which makes sense.) | I smelled the cinnamon buns coming down the stairs for dinner. (Here your reader imagines walking pastry…the participial phrase appears to modify 'cinnamon buns', the closest noun.) |
In other words, avoid dangling modifiers (i.e. participles and participial phrases that describe an action that has no doer).
This means that you must make sure that your participial phrase has a clearly identifiable noun close by to modify. Your modifier will dangle if the noun it modifies appears in an earlier sentence or doesn’t appear at all – which will confuse your reader.
| Correct example | Incorrect example |
|---|---|
After reading the original study, I find the article unconvincing. (‘After reading the original study’ modifies ‘I’) | After reading the original study, the article remains unconvincing. (Who read the study?) |
I was late for work again. Running for the bus, I dropped my briefcase in a puddle.(‘Running for the bus’ modifies ‘I’) | I was late for work again. Running for the bus, my briefcase fell in a puddle.(Was the briefcase running for the bus?) |
For more help on dangling modifiers, see