Danish 'at Lave' Vs 'at Gã¸re' To Do/make

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ulven Sunday 07th of August 2005 03:02:07 PM
'at lave' vs 'at gÃ¸re' - These are some examples (curtesy of Freja).

gør som du vil - [i]do as you please[/i]
han gjorde et godt indtryk - [i]he made a good impression[/i]
kommer du i morgen? Ja, jeg gør - [i]Are you coming tomorrow? Yes, I am [Come you in morrow? Yes, I do/make][/i]
Han kunne ikke gøre for det - [i]It wasn't his fault [He could not do/make for it][/i]
Hvad kan jeg gøre for dig? - [i]What can I do for you?[/i]
det gør ikke noget - [i]it doesn't matter [it does/makes not something][/i]
gør det selv - [i]do it yourself[/i]
det har ikke noget at gøre med dig - [i]it has nothing to do with you[/i]

lave kaffe - [i]make coffee[/i]
lave mad - [i]prepare food[/i]
lave ballade - [i]make trouble[/i]
den er lavet af træ - [i]it's made of wood[/i]
hvad laver du? - [i]what are you doing?[/i]
kan du lave mit ur? - [i]can you fix/repair my watch?[/i]

It appears to me that [b]at gøre[/b] is used for indirect, general reference, whereas [b]at lave[/b] is more directly and specifically used. Or further, [b]at laver[/b] is used directly with nouns, and [b]at gøre[/b] is used with adjectives and unknowns (like if what is being done, is EITHER a verb OR a noun, yet it isn't known which. eg. "Just do it"- "Gør det så". Would this be a correct conclusion to draw?

D Monday 08th of August 2005 04:51:38 AM
- Thou assumest correctly. [I]At lave[/I] is used for visible, physical work or activities, and [I]at gøre[/I] for more abstract ones;

• ’Er dit armbåndsur stadigvæk i stykker?’ — ’Nej, jeg fik det lavet i sidste uge.’
[’Det’ is the direct object and alludes to ’armbåndsur’.]

• ’Poul burde virkelig få malet sit hus.’ — ’Bare rolig, han fik det gjort i går.’
’Det’ alludes to the entire action of Poul’s painting his house.

• ’Hvad skal vi gøre?’ = We are faced with an unpleasant situation and do not know how to resolve or escape it.

• ’Hvad skal vi lave?’ = We are idle and seeking an activity to keep us busy.

• ’Hvordan kunne du lave det/den?’ = How did you succeed in repairing this object?

• ’Hvordan kunne du gøre det?’ = What possessed you to take this particular course of action?

• ’Dét kunne jeg aldrig have gjort!’ = Never in a million years would I have taken this course of action.

• Dét/dén kunne jeg aldrig have lavet! = Never in a million years would I have been able to mend this object.

Hope this helps. Feel more than free to inquire further if there’re still any grey areas. :)

D

Phrasebase Archive
	ulven	Sunday 07th of August 2005 03:02:07 PM
	'at lave' vs 'at gÃ¸re' - These are some examples (curtesy of Freja). gør som du vil - [i]do as you please[/i] han gjorde et godt indtryk - [i]he made a good impression[/i] kommer du i morgen? Ja, jeg gør - [i]Are you coming tomorrow? Yes, I am [Come you in morrow? Yes, I do/make][/i] Han kunne ikke gøre for det - [i]It wasn't his fault [He could not do/make for it][/i] Hvad kan jeg gøre for dig? - [i]What can I do for you?[/i] det gør ikke noget - [i]it doesn't matter [it does/makes not something][/i] gør det selv - [i]do it yourself[/i] det har ikke noget at gøre med dig - [i]it has nothing to do with you[/i] lave kaffe - [i]make coffee[/i] lave mad - [i]prepare food[/i] lave ballade - [i]make trouble[/i] den er lavet af træ - [i]it's made of wood[/i] hvad laver du? - [i]what are you doing?[/i] kan du lave mit ur? - [i]can you fix/repair my watch?[/i] It appears to me that [b]at gøre[/b] is used for indirect, general reference, whereas [b]at lave[/b] is more directly and specifically used. Or further, [b]at laver[/b] is used directly with nouns, and [b]at gøre[/b] is used with adjectives and unknowns (like if what is being done, is EITHER a verb OR a noun, yet it isn't known which. eg. "Just do it"- "Gør det så". Would this be a correct conclusion to draw?
	D	Monday 08th of August 2005 04:51:38 AM
	- Thou assumest correctly. [I]At lave[/I] is used for visible, physical work or activities, and [I]at gøre[/I] for more abstract ones; • ’Er dit armbåndsur stadigvæk i stykker?’ — ’Nej, jeg fik det lavet i sidste uge.’ [’Det’ is the direct object and alludes to ’armbåndsur’.] • ’Poul burde virkelig få malet sit hus.’ — ’Bare rolig, han fik det gjort i går.’ ’Det’ alludes to the entire action of Poul’s painting his house. • ’Hvad skal vi gøre?’ = We are faced with an unpleasant situation and do not know how to resolve or escape it. • ’Hvad skal vi lave?’ = We are idle and seeking an activity to keep us busy. • ’Hvordan kunne du lave det/den?’ = How did you succeed in repairing this object? • ’Hvordan kunne du gøre det?’ = What possessed you to take this particular course of action? • ’Dét kunne jeg aldrig have gjort!’ = Never in a million years would I have taken this course of action. • Dét/dén kunne jeg aldrig have lavet! = Never in a million years would I have been able to mend this object. Hope this helps. Feel more than free to inquire further if there’re still any grey areas. :) D