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Danish

### Feasibility: Lade sig gøre

In Danish, a very common way to express that something is practically possible—or impossible—is the idiom *at lade sig gøre* (literally "to let itself do"). When combined with the dummy subject *det*, it functions like the English phrases "it can be done" or "it is possible."

You will often see it used with the negative *ikke* to state that constraints or circumstances prevent an action.

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### The Passive Sense of Lade sig

The phrase *lade sig* can also be paired with other infinitives. When the subject is an inanimate object or an abstract concept, *lade sig* followed by a regular active infinitive expresses that the subject *can be* acted upon in that way.

Even though the Danish verb at the end is in its active form, the English translation uses a passive voice. For instance, *lader sig finde* translates to "can be found," and *lader sig omgå* means "can be bypassed."

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### People and Persuasion

When the subject is a person, *lade sig* takes on a more literal meaning: "to let oneself (be)." It indicates whether someone allows an action to be done to them.

This is frequently used with verbs involving persuasion, manipulation, or authority. Just as with inanimate subjects, the Danish infinitive remains in its active form, but it describes a passive action happening to the person.

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Presentational passive (lade sig)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite nouns and the copula (-en, -et, er)

Indefinite articles (en, et)

Present tense verbs and word order (-r)

Plural subject pronouns (vi, I, de)

The verb to have (har)

Yes/No questions

Wh-questions (hvad, hvem, hvor)

Main clause negation (ikke)

Regular noun plurals (-er, -r)

Short noun plurals (-e)

Definite plurals (-ne)

Neuter adjective agreement (-t)

Plural adjective agreement (-e)

Adjectives with indefinite nouns

Adjectives with definite nouns (den / det / de ... -e)

Numbers 1 to 10

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Expressing age (er ... år)

Genitive possession (-s)

Singular possessives (min, din)

Third-person possessives (hans, hendes)

Plural possessives (vores, jeres, deres)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sit, sine)

Singular object pronouns (mig, dig)

Plural object pronouns (os, jer, dem)

The infinitive marker (at)

The modal verb can (kan)

The modal verb want to (vil)

The modal verb must (skal)

Negating modal verbs

Inversion after adverbs

Prepositions of position (i, på)

Prepositions of direction (til, fra)

Days of the week (mandag, tirsdag...)

Months of the year (januar, februar...)

Telling time (hel, halv, kvart)

Coordinating conjunctions (og, men, eller)

Subordinating conjunctions (at, fordi)

Subordinate clause negation

Commands (køb, vent, spis)

Zero-ending neuter plurals

The Human Body: Head and Face

The Human Body: Limbs and Torso

Personal Hygiene

Digital Life

Tools and Hardware

Emergency and Safety

Common Materials

Money and Payments

Short answers (Ja, det gør jeg)

Greetings (hej, godmorgen, farvel)

Thanks and apologies (tak, undskyld)

Jobs and nationalities (Hun er lærer)

Likes and dislikes (kan godt lide)

Somebody and something (nogen, noget, ingen)

How much? (meget, lidt, mere, nok)

With, by, over and under (med, ved, over, under)

Ordinals and dates (den første april)

Wishes for every occasion (tillykke, god bedring)

Times of day (om morgenen, om aftenen)

My day (stå op, gå i seng)

Past tense I: -ede and -te (i går)

My new hat (min nye hat, små, gamle)

Past tense II: irregular verbs (var, havde, gik)

Reacting in a conversation (nå, det lyder godt)

The family and irregular plurals (mænd, børn, fødder)

In the shop (Hvad koster det?)

Demonstratives: that and those (den, det, de)

Demonstratives: this and these (denne, dette, disse)

Adverbs of manner (-t)

Comparing things (-ere, end)

Superlative adjectives (-est)

Definite superlative adjectives (-este)

Irregular adjective comparison

Comparing long adjectives (mere, mest)

The reflexive pronoun (sig)

Reflexive verbs

Reciprocal verbs (-s)

Deponent verbs (-s)

Past opinions (syntes)

Present perfect tense with regular verbs (har... -et/-t)

Present perfect tense with irregular verbs (har...)

Present perfect tense with movement (er...)

Past perfect tense (havde / var...)

Question	Answer
to realize	realisere
the strategy	strategien
It is not possible to realize the strategy right now.	Det lader sig ikke gøre at realisere strategien lige nu.
realistic	realistisk
the compromise	kompromisset
A realistic compromise can always be reached.	Et realistisk kompromis lader sig altid finde.
to bypass	omgå
She says that the rule unfortunately cannot be bypassed.	Hun siger at reglen desværre ikke lader sig omgå.
to fool	narre
The customer did not let himself be fooled by the seller.	Kunden lod sig ikke narre af sælgeren.
to lure	lokke
Would it be possible to lure her with the job?	Ville det lade sig gøre at lokke hende med jobbet?
to dictate	diktere
The manager does not let himself be dictated to by the board.	Lederen lader sig ikke diktere af bestyrelsen.
to set aside	tilsidesætte
The compromise cannot simply be set aside.	Kompromisset lader sig ikke bare tilsidesætte.
willing	villig
Are you willing to admit the mistake?	Er du villig til at indrømme fejlen?
It is not possible to realize the project without them.	Det lader sig ikke gøre at realisere projektet uden dem.
He is afraid to let himself be lured and fooled.	Han er bange for at lade sig lokke og narre.
the reluctance	modviljen
We understand the reluctance, but the decision cannot be set aside.	Vi forstår modviljen, men beslutningen lader sig ikke tilsidesætte.
Does it sound realistic that it can be done?	Lyder det realistisk at det lader sig gøre?
It is not possible to bypass the strategy, even though he is willing.	Det lader sig ikke gøre at omgå strategien selvom han er villig.
the recommendation	anbefalingen
She does not let herself be dictated by the reluctance towards the recommendation.	Hun lader sig ikke diktere af modviljen mod anbefalingen.
The doctor says that it is possible to follow the recommendation.	Lægen siger at det lader sig gøre at følge anbefalingen.