Light verbs: the verb is the point
Each phrase here pairs a common verb with a noun. The noun carries the meaning, but the verb is fixed, and it is often not the one English uses. Learn each phrase as one unit.
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| træffe en beslutning | to make a decision |
| gøre en indsats | to make an effort |
| give mening | to make sense |
| gøre brug af | to make use of |
English says make in all four, but Danish uses lave in none of them: lave en beslutning and lave mening are word-for-word copies of English. Tage en beslutning is also correct and very common in speech; træffe sounds a little more formal.
| We have made a decision. | Vi har truffet en beslutning. |
| It doesn't make sense to wait. | Det giver ikke mening at vente. |
The preposition belongs to the phrase
| Danish | English |
|---|---|
| tage hensyn til | to take into account |
| have styr på | to have under control |
| lægge vægt på | to attach importance to |
| sætte fokus på | to put the focus on |
| få ud af | to get out of |
| We have to show consideration for the neighbors. | Vi skal tage hensyn til naboerne. |
With få ud af, what you gain goes in the middle: få meget ud af, få noget ud af.
| She gets a lot out of reading. | Hun får meget ud af at læse. |
Gøre brug af is a more formal way of saying bruge, and stå til rådighed is formal too: you meet it in letters, notices and job ads.
| We are available for questions. | Vi står til rådighed for spørgsmål. |
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