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Hun lader sin mobil ligge i tasken, når hun vil slappe af.

Hun lader sin mobil ligge i tasken, når hun vil slappe af.
She leaves her phone in her bag when she wants to relax.

Breakdown of Hun lader sin mobil ligge i tasken, når hun vil slappe af.

i
in
når
when
hun
she
ville
to want
tasken
the bag
slappe af
to relax
sin
her own
lade ligge
to leave
mobilen
the phone
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Questions & Answers about Hun lader sin mobil ligge i tasken, når hun vil slappe af.

Why does Danish use lader ... ligge instead of a single verb like “leave”?

In Danish, lade often means to let / to allow / to have something happen, and it frequently combines with an infinitive to express “leave something (in a state/place)”:

  • Hun lader sin mobil ligge ... = she lets her phone lie / stay ... This is a very common Danish pattern:
  • Lad døren stå åben = leave the door open
  • Lad bilen stå = leave the car (parked)
What is the grammar of lader here—tense, person, and infinitive?

lader is the present tense of the verb at lade (to let/leave). It agrees with all persons (Danish verbs don’t change by person):

  • jeg lader
  • du lader
  • hun lader The verb after it, ligge, is in the infinitive.
Why is it sin mobil and not hendes mobil?

sin/sit/sine is the reflexive possessive and usually means “her/his/their own” when it refers back to the subject of the clause.

  • Hun lader sin mobil ... = She leaves her own phone ... If you use hendes, it often suggests it belongs to someone else female (or it adds emphasis/contrast):
  • Hun lader hendes mobil ... = She leaves that woman’s phone ... (often odd unless the context demands it)
How do I choose between sin, sit, and sine?

They agree with the noun:

  • sin
    • common gender singular (en-words): sin mobil
  • sit
    • neuter singular (et-words): sit barn
  • sine
    • plural: sine nøgler
Why is it mobil and not something like mobiltelefon?

mobil is a very common everyday shorthand for mobile phone in Danish. You can also say:

  • mobiltelefon (more explicit/formal)
  • telefon (often understood as “mobile” in modern usage)
What does i tasken mean exactly, and why is it tasken (definite form)?

i tasken means in the bag. Danish often uses the definite form when referring to a familiar/typical item in context—here, “her bag” is understood.

  • en taske = a bag
  • tasken = the bag
    You could also say i sin taske if you want to be explicit: “in her own bag.”
Could I say på tasken instead of i tasken?

Usually no. i tasken = inside the bag.
på tasken would mean on the bag (on top of it / on its surface), which changes the meaning.

Why is there a comma before når?

Danish normally uses a comma to separate a main clause and a subordinate clause:

  • Main clause: Hun lader sin mobil ligge i tasken,
  • Subordinate clause: når hun vil slappe af. Many writing styles in Danish keep this comma consistently.
What does når signal here, and how is it different from da?

når is used for something that happens repeatedly or generally (“when(ever)”):

  • She leaves it in her bag when(ever) she wants to relax. da is typically used for a single past occasion (“when” in a past narrative):
  • She did it when she wanted to relax (that one time in the past).
Why is the word order når hun vil slappe af and not når hun slapper af?

Both can be correct, but they mean slightly different things:

  • når hun vil slappe af = when she wants/intends to relax
  • når hun slapper af = when she is (actually) relaxing Using vil adds the idea of intention/decision.
What is going on with slappe af—is it one verb?

It’s a fixed verb phrase: at slappe af = to relax.
The core verb is slappe, and af is a particle that belongs with it. In many contexts they stay together:

  • Hun vil slappe af. In some sentence types, particles can move, but with vil
    • infinitive it normally stays as slappe af.
How would this sentence change in the past tense?

A straightforward past version is:

  • Hun lod sin mobil ligge i tasken, når hun ville slappe af. Here:
  • lod = past of lader
  • ville = past of vil If you mean a repeated habit in the past, når can still be used like this; if you mean one specific past event, da may fit better:
  • Hun lod sin mobil ligge i tasken, da hun ville slappe af.