Letting Someone Do Something
To talk about letting someone do something, Danish uses the verb lade.
Conjugate lade, add the person or object, and follow it with the bare infinitive of the action verb. Just like the English "let", do not use the word at (to) before the second verb.
| I will not let them limit screen time. | Jeg vil ikke lade dem begrænse skærmtiden. |
| The consequence is that we do not let him play the video game. | Konsekvensen er at vi ikke lader ham spille videospillet. |
Allowing and Forbidding
When discussing rules, you will also use verbs like tillade (to allow) and forbyde (to forbid).
Unlike lade, the verb tillade requires the marker at before a following infinitive. Both verbs can also simply take a noun as a direct object.
| She does not forbid the playdate because she knows how to raise a child. | Hun forbyder ikke legeaftalen fordi hun ved hvordan man opdrager et barn. |
| We do not allow them to stay awake after bedtime. | Vi tillader dem ikke at være vågne efter sengetid. |
Finding the Right Balance
Raising a child (at opdrage et barn) involves balancing what you forbid with what you let them do.
Notice how you can combine these verbs to set boundaries and consequences. Remember to drop the at when using lade, even when paired with other verbs in the same sentence.
| I thought that we should forbid the video game and let them play outside. | Jeg syntes at vi skulle forbyde videospillet og lade dem lege udenfor. |
| To raise a child is also to let it make mistakes. | At opdrage et barn er også at lade det lave fejl. |