Afsluttende uvidenskabelige Efterskrift til de Philosophiske Smuler : post-scriptum final non-

scientifique aux Miettes philosophiques (la chapelure philosophique).

1.Introduction to the Danish Language

2.Nouns
Genders and articles
Joined nouns
Plural
Genitive
3.Verbs
Infinitive
Imperative
Modal verbs
Passive form
Tenses
Irregular Verbs
4.Adjectives and adverbs
Forms
Comparison
Forming adverbs
Two-form adverbs
5.Pronouns
6.Numerals and the units of time
Cardinal and ordinal numbers
Telling the time
Days of the week
Months
Basic equations
7.Prepositions and conjunctions
8.A brief introduction to syntax (sentence structure/word order)
Affirmative sentence
Interrogative sentence (forming questions)
yes/no questions

9.Danish pronunciation

Introduction to the Danish language

Introduktion til det danske sprog

Danish, the official language of Denmark, is spoken by over 5 million people. It is a germanic
tongue, which means it is closely related to English and German. It becomes obvious when one
gets to know some Danish vocabulary, eg. come (Eng.) = komme (Dan.) = kommen (Ger.),
bring (Eng.) = bringe (Dan.) = bringen (Ger.). As a nordic language, it is very similar to
Swedish and Norwegian. The knowledge of any of the above mentioned languages is a big
help in learning Danish, and in the case of the two latter mutual understanding without prior
learning is often possible.
The Danish alphabet differs slightly from the Latin one. There are three additional letters (found
at the end of alphabet -- remember about it browsing a dictionary or a phone directory!) They
are

*Æ æ as in "forældre" (parents) -- a ligature of "a" and "e".

Indicates a monophtong (a single vowel).
*Ø ø as in "rød" (red) -- a "crossed o".
*Å å as in "et år" (a year) -- an "a with a ring above it."

æ se prononce en général [è], ø [eu] comme feu, å [o] comme alors

Before the spelling reform in 1948 the sound was written as "aa". Such spelling is preserved in
some names, eg. Aalborg = Ålborg

The Danish grammar is not difficult, especially for a speaker of a Germanic language, who is
already familiar with the concept of articles, sequence of tences, etc. The most difficult thing
about the language is its pronunciation -- at the beginning, even if you can understand written
texts, it is virtually impossible to understand a native speaker! It comes with time, however.

Nouns

Substantiver / navneord
Genders and articles (køn og artikler/kendeord)

There are two genders in Danish:

1. common gender (fælleskøn) -- en, den
2. neuter gender (intetkøn) -- et, det

They have to be remembered along with the words. A hint: about 75% of nouns are en-words.
There are two indefinite articles: et and en and three definite articles: det, den, and plural de.
They are used in the form of suffixes -en, -et, -(e)ne. That means they are attached to words
(they don't preceed them like in English or German). The following table illustrates the use of
articles.

singular plural

indefinite en-word en dreng a boy

en pige a girl
drenge boys
piger girls
definite en-word drengen the boy
pigen the girl
drengene the boys
pigerne the girls

indefinite et-word
et hus a house
et træ a tree
huse houses
træer trees
definite et-word huset the house
træet the tree
husene the houses
træerne the trees

If an adjective is present, articles are used in a different way :

indefinite en-word en stor dreng a big boy

en stor pige a big girl
store drenge big boys
store piger big girls
definite en-word den store dreng the big boy
den store pige the big girl
de store drenge the big boys
de store piger the big girls

indefinite et-word et stort hus a big house

et stort træ a big tree
store huse big houses
store træer big trees
definite et-word det store hus the big house
det store træ the big tree
de store huse the big houses
de store træer the big trees

For the explanation of adjective forms in the above table see the chapter on adjectives.

Plurals (flertal)
Plurals can be formed in four ways:
1. by adding -er, eg. en kage - kager (a cake - cakes)
2. by adding -e, eg. et hus - huse (a house - houses)
3. no change, eg. en ting - ting (a thing - things)
4. irregularly, eg. en mand - mænd (a man - men)

In a very few cases forming a plural is accompanied by a vovel mutation in the noun stem, eg.
en bog - bøger (a book - books). Certain words, though not many, retained their original plural
forms (eg. Latin visum - visa or English point - points). Some words are found only in the
singular (eg. død, håb (death, hope)) or only in the plurar (eg. briller, bukser (glasses,
trousers)).
Joined nouns (sammensatte substantiver)

Danish words (N, V, Adj, Adv) are often joined together (one observes a similar phenomenon
in the German language) by putting s, e, or nothing between them. In such cases the last word
decides about the article, and takes the plural form. Examples:
* et eksamensbevis - eksamensbeviser
* et handelsskib - handelsskibe (a trade ship)
* en flyvemaskine - flyvemaskiner (a plane)

Genitive (ejefald)
Genitive is formed just like in English - we add an s at the end of the word (after all other
possible suffixes). The only difference is that in Danish one does not use an apostrophe. If a
noun ends with s (or z), we add es, 's or '. In case of a group of nouns (eg. Adam and Eve) s
can be attached to both nouns, or only to the last one. Examples:
* min mors bog - my mother's book
* missens mad - the cat's food
* Søren og Jespers plader - Søren and Jesper's records
* Lises venner - Lise's (or Lis') friends
* Lis's venner - Lis' friends (informal)

Capitalization
Before the spelling reform in 1948 all nouns were spelled with a capital letter (as in German):
Derude paa Himlen havde blaagraa Farver vundet Magten, og enkelte Regndraaber slog mod
Ruderne. It is not the case anymore.

Verbs

Verber / udsagnsord
Conjugation
Danish verbs do not conjugate (change their ending) in the different persons.
singular plural
spise (manger) Jeg er (spiser) Vi er (spiser)
Jeg er træt Du er (spiser) I er (spiser)
Han er (spiser) (il)
Hun er (spiser) (elle)
Den/det er (spiser) (cet/cette) De er (spiser) (vous/ils/elles)
eller…enten

The infinitive (navnemåde)

The infinitive in most cases ends in -e, eg.: at skrive (to write), at læse (to read), at glemme (to
forget). In some cases, however, it has a different ending, eg.: at gå (to go), at dø (to die), at bo
(to live).

The imperative (bydemåde)

The imperative is formed by substracting the final -e from the infinitive form: spis! (eat!), skriv!
(write!).

Tenses

There are four tenses in Danish:

1. Present tense
It is formed by adding -r to the infinitive form of a verb.
Note, that the modal verbs break this -r rule.

Examples:
* Jeg spiser. (I eat, I am eating.)
* Vi sover. (We sleep, We are sleeping.)

2. Present[past] perfect tense (have/være)

It is formed by using the auxiliary verb har/er[havde/var] followed by the past participle (the
base form of a verb + -(e)t).

Examples:
* Jeg har spist det. (I have eaten it.)
* Jeg havde spist det. (I had eaten it.)
* Jeg har været her. (I've been here.)
* Jeg havde været der. (I'd been there.)
* Jeg er rejst/gået. (I've travelled/walked.)
* Jeg var rejst/gået. (I'd travelled/walked.)

3. Past tense

It is formed by adding -ede/-te to the basic form of a verb.

Examples:
* Jeg købte øl. (I bought beer.)
* Ringede du til mig ? (Did you call me ?)

4. Future tense

It is formed by using the verb vil/skal followed by an infinitive.

Examples:
* Jeg vil rejse til Polen. (I will traver to Poland.)
* Du skal få det i morgen. (You shall get it tomorrow.)

Modal verbs (mådesudsangsord)

Modal verbs are followed by a verb in the infinitive form.

can kunne : Jeg kan ikke huske det. I cannot remember that.
shall / should skulle Det skulle være forbudt! It should be forbidden!
will / want to ville Jeg vil fortælle dig noget. I want to tell you something.
may / must måtte Du må ikke gøre det. You mustn't do this.
ought to burdeDu bør læse denne avis. You ought to read this paper.
dare turde Tør du prøve det? Dare you try it?
feel like gide Hun gider ikke lave sine lektier. She doesn't feel like doing her homework.
Unlike English, Danish modal verbs conjugate in all the tenses: Jeg har kunnet spise 10 kager.

The passive form (Passivform)

There are two ways of forming a passive form in Danish:

1. -s form: we add -s to the appropriate (infinive or past, depending on the context) verb
form.
Examples:
* Lysene slukkes. (The lights are turned off.)
* Hunde skal føres i snor. (Dogs must be held on a leash.)

2. at blive: we use an appropriate form of the verb at blive + past participle.

Examples:
* En kage bliver spist af drengen. (A cake is (being) eaten by the boy.)
* En kvinde blev dræbt. (A woman got killed.)

The present participle (Lang tillægsform)

The present participle is formed by adding -ende to the infinitive form, eg.
* stå - stående (stand - standing)
* løb - løbende (run - running)
* drille - drillende (tease - teasing)

The present participle, as in English, can be used as an adjective: eg. de følgende sider (the
following pages).

Irregular verbs (Uregelmæssige verber )

Infinitive Present Past Perfect Translation

at bede beder bad har bedt to ask, to beg

at betyde betyder betød har betydet to mean
at bide bider bed har bidt to bite
at binde binder bandt har bundet to bind
at blive bliver blev er blevet to become, to remain
at bringe bringer bragte har bragt to bring
at bryde bryder brød har brudt to break
at burde bør burde har burdet ought to
at byde byder bød har budt to offer
at bære bærer bar har baret to carry
at drikke drikker drak har drukket to drink
at drive driver drev har drevet to drive
at dø dør døde er død/døet to die
at falde falder faldt er faldet to fall
at finde finder fandt har fundet to find
at flyde flyder flød har flydt to flow
at flyve flyver fløj er/har fløjet to fly
at forlade forlader forlod har forladt to leave
at fortryde fortryder fortrød har fortrudt to be sorry for
at fryse fryser frøs har frosset to freeze
at følge følger fulgte har fulgt to follow
at få får fik har fået to get
at gide gider gad har gidet to feel like
at give giver gav har givet to give
at glide glider gled er gledet to slip
at gnide gnider gned har gnedet to rub
at gribe griber greb har grebet to grab, to seize
at græde græder græd har grædt to cry
at gælde gælder gjaldt har gjaldt/gældt to apply
at gøre gør gjorde har gjort to do
at gå går gik er/har gået to go
at have har havde har haft to have
at hedde hedder hed har heddet to be called
at hive hiver hev har hevet to pull
at hjælpe hjælper hjalp har hjulpet to help
at holde holder holdt har holdt to hold
at hænge hænger hang har hængt to hang
at knibe kniber kneb har knebet to pinch
at komme kommer kom er/har kommet to come
at krybe kryber krøb er krøbet to crawl
at kunne kan kunne har kunnet can
at kvæle kvæler kvalte har kvalt to strangle
at lade lader lod har ladet to let
at le ler lo har leet to laugh
at lide lider led har lidt to suffer
at ligge ligger lå har ligget to lie
at lyde lyder lød har lydt to sound
at lyve lyver løj har løjet to lie (speak untruth)
at lægge lægger lagde har lagt to lay/put down
at løbe løber løb er/har løbet to run
at måtte må måtte har måttet may
at nyde nyder nød har nydt to enjoy
at nyse nyser nøs har nyst to sneeze
at ride rider red er/har redet to ride
at rive river rev har revet to scratch
at ryge ryger røg har røget to smoke
at række raekker rakte har rakt to pass
at se ser så har set to see
at sidde sidder sad har siddet to sit
at sige siger sagde har sagt to say
at skide skider sked har skidt to shit
at skride skrider skred er skredet to slip
at skrige skriger skreg har skreget to scream
at skrive skriver skrev har skrevet to write
at skulle skal skulle har skullet should
at skyde skyder skød har skudt to shoot
at skære skærer skar har skaret to cut
at slibe sliber sleb har slebet to sharpen
at slide slider sled har slidt to work hard
at slippe slipper slap har sluppet to let go
at slå slår slog har slået to hit
at smide smider smed har smidt to throw
at smøre smører smurte har smurt to smear
at snyde snyder snød har snydt to cheat
at sove sover sov har sovet to sleep
at springe springer sprang har sprunget to jump
at spørge spørger spurgte har spurgt to ask
at stige stiger steg er steget to rise
at stikke stikker stak har stukket to pick
at stinke stinker stank har stinket to stink
at stjæle stjæler stjal har stjålet to steal
at stryge stryger strøg har strøget to iron
at strække strækker strakte har strakt to stretch
at synge synger sang har sunget to sing
at synke synker sank er/har sunket to sink
at sælge sælger solgte har solgt to sell
at sætte sætter satte har sat to set/put down
at tage tager tog har taget to take
at tie tier tav har tiet to be quiet
at træde træder trådte har trådt to tread
at træffe træffer traf har truffet to come across
at trække trækker trak har trukket to draw
at turde tør turde har turdet to dare
at tvinge tvinger tvang har tvunget to compel
at tælle tæller talte har talt to count
at vide ved vidste har vidst to know
at ville vil ville har villet to want
at vinde vinder vandt har vundet to win
at vælge vælger valgte har valgt to choose
at være er var har været to be
at æde æder åd har ædt to feed on

Adjectives and adverbs (Adjektiver og adverbier)

Forms of adjectives

There are three forms of adjectives in Danish:

1. basic form, eg. en stor dreng, en billig bog. This form is used with singular n-words.
2. t-form, eg. et stort hus, et billigt tæppe. Used with singular t-words.
3. e-form, eg. store huse, den billige bog. Used in plural and with a definite article.

Comparison (gradbøjning)
1: -ere, -est 2: mere, mest 3: irregular
positive høj high
populær popular
god, dårlig, lille, gammel good, bad, little, old

comparative højere higher

mere populær more popular
bedre, værre, mindre, ældre better, worse, less, older

superlative højest highest

mest populær most popular
bedst, værst, mindst, ældst best, worst, least, oldest

Forming adverbs

Adverbs are formed by adding -t to the basic form of an adjective, eg. smuk (beautiful) - smukt
(beautifully). Do not add -t to the adjectives already ending in -t stolt (proud) - stolt (proudly).

Two form adverbs

Some adverbs have two forms: a short and a long one.

The short form is used when the action we talk about involves changing place:
* hjem - Jeg skal hjem.
* ud - Gå ud!
* op - En edderkop kravler op ad muren.

The long form is used when an action taking place in one place is described:
* hjemme - Jeg er hjemme.
* ude - Børnene leger ude.
* oppe - Højttaleren står oppe på skabet.

Pronouns Pronominer / Stedord

Personal, possessive and reflexive pronouns

personal (personlige) possessive (possesive) object (objekt) reflexive

(refleksive)
I jeg min / mit / mine mig mig
you du / De din / dit / dine / Deres dig / Dem dig / Dem
he han hans (sin / sit / sine) ham sig
she hun hendes (sin / sit / sine) hende sig
it den / det dens / dets (sin / sit / sine) den / det sig
we vi vores os os
you I / De jeres / Deres jer / Dem jer / Dem
they de deres dem
sig

Personal pronouns: The second person (singular and plural) has two forms: familiar du/I and
polite De. A similar distinction exsists eg. in German (du/Sie), French (tu/vous) or Polish (ty/
Pan[i]). However, most Danes will chose the form du in 99% of cases.

Possessive pronouns: in the third person singular one uses sin with relation to the subject of the
sentence. Eg. the sentence Han elsker sin kone. means that "he" loves his own wife, whereas
Han elsker hans kone. means that the woman in question is a wife of some other man. A
similar distinction is observed in Polish/Russian: jego/swój.

Demonstrative pronouns
singular this denne / dette, den her / det her that den (der) / det (der)
plural thesedisse those
de (der)

Examples: De indspillede den her sang for en evighed. Vi burde nok have anmeldt dette
svineri. Hvilket af disse er bedst?
Interrogative pronouns
what hvad
who hvem
when hvornår
where hvor
why hvorfor
how hvordan
whose hvis
which hvilken / hvilket / hvilke

Indefinite pronouns
something noget
somebody nogen
nothing ikke noget / ingenting / intet
nobody ikke nogen / ingen
many mange
few få

Examples: Der må gøres noget. Er der nogen her? Mange af mine venner...

Relative pronoun som / der

Pigen, som/der synger, kommer fra Tyskland.

The girl who is singing, comes from Germany.
Jeg læse bogen, som du gav mig.
I read the book (that) you gave me.

Numerals and the units of time

Talord og tid Cardinal and ordinal numbers

cardinal numbers mængde-tal/ ordinal numbers ordens-tal

1 en / et første 11 elleveelvte
2 to anden 12 tolv tolvte
3 tre tredje 13 tretten trettende
4 fire fjerde 14 fjorten fjortende
5 fem femte 15 femten femtende
6 seks sjette 16 seksten sekstende
7 syv syvende 17 sytten syttende
8 otte ottende 18 atten attende
9 ni niende 19 nitten nittende
10 ti tiende 20 tyve tyvende

21 enogtyve enogtyvende
22 toogtyve toogtyvende
30 tredive tredvte 100 (et) hundrede
hundrede
40 fyrre fyrre-tyvende 101 (et) hundrede og en
50 halvtreds halvtreds-sinds-tyvende 200 to hundrede
60 tres tre-sinds-tyvende 1,000 (et) tusind tusinde
70 halvfjerds halvfjerd-sinds-tyvende 1,000,000 (en) milion milionte
80 firs fir-sinds-tyvende 1.5 halvanden
90 halvfems halvfem-sinds-tyvende 0.5 en halv

Telling the time

* 11:00 - klokken er elleve

* 11:02 - klokken er to minutter over elleve
* 11:15 - klokken er femten minutter (=kvart) over elleve
* 11:30 - klokken er halv tolv
* 11:45 - klokken er femten minutter (=kvart) i tolv
* 11:55 - klokken er fem minutter i tolv

Days of the week

mandag / tirsdag / onsdag / torsdag / fredag / lørdag / søndag

Months

1. januar
2. februar
3. marts
4. april
5. maj
6. juni
7. juli
8. august
9. september
10. oktober
11. november
12. december

Four basic equations

addition addition 6 + 8 = 14 seks og otte er fjorten
substraction substraktion 15 – 7 = 8 femten minus syv er otte
multiplication multiplikation 3 · 4 = 12 tre gange fire er tolv
division division 20 ÷ 5 = 4 tyve divideret med fem er fire

Prepositions and conjunctions

Forholdsord og bindeord

•Prepositions (forholdsord)
The use of prepositions differs among languages. Therefore I provide only a list of prepositions
here. Consult a dictionary.

ad :
af :
bag :
efter :
for :
foran :
forbi :
fra :
før :
gennem :
hos :
i:
imod :
inden :
langs :
med :
mellem :
mod :
om :
omkring :
over :
på :
til :
uden :
under :
ved :

Conjunctions (bindeord)
eller : te eller kaffe ? tea or caffee ?
fordi : Jeg købte det ikke, fordi det var dyrt. I didn't buy it, because it was expensive.
men : gammel men sund old but healthy
mens : Mens jeg spiste, snakede du. While I was eating you were talking.
når : Når jeg kommer fra skole, spiser jeg. When I come from school, I eat.
og : Nina og Peter Nina and Peter
om : Jeg ved ikke, om vi får regn i morgen. I don't know if/whether we'll get rain
tomorrow.
Syntax: the structure of Danish sentences

Led-stilling Affirmative sentences

Du kender mig.
subject verb object
You know me.

Jeg har aldrig givet hende en blomst før.

subj verb1 central adverb verb2 indirect object o b j e c t
adverb
I have never given her a flower before.

If a sentence begins with an adverb/adverbial expression, inversion applies:

Aldrig har jeg givet hende en blomst før.
central adverb verb1 subject verb2 indirect object o b j e c t
adverb
Never have I given her a flower before.

Tit har jeg givet ham bøger.

central adverb verb1 subject verb2 indirect object object
Often have I given him books.

In subordinate clauses the central adverb (ikke, aldrig, etc) is moved to the front of the verb,
eg. Jeg ved, at du ikke har læst den. Jeg har hørt, at hun alligevel beståede.

Interrogative sentence (question):

The question is formed by inversion: the verb moves to the beginning of the sentence.

Kender du mig ?
verb subject object
Know you me ? (Do you know me?)

Må jeg låne det?

verb1 subject verb2 object
May I borrow this?

Short answers to Yes/No questions

Just like in English, there exist short answers to yes/no questions:

Taler du dansk? Do you speak Danish?

Ja, det gør jeg. / Ja, jeg gør. Yes, I do.
Nej, det gør jeg ikke. / Nej, jeg gør ej. No, I don't.
Må jeg læse det? May I read this?
Ja, det må du. / Ja, du må. Yes, you may.
Nej, det må du ikke. / Nej, du må ej. No, you may not.
Har du spist den? Have you eaten it?
Ja, det har jeg. / Ja, jeg har. Yes, I have.
Nej, det har jeg ikke. / Nej, jeg har ej. No, I haven't.

Pronunciation

Udtale Vowels
Danish has 9 vowels (in its writing system): i, e, æ, y, ø, u, å, o, and a. All of them have long
and short variants (affecting the meaning of words).

* æ is pronounced similarly to e in English best

* ø is pronounced similarly to ö in German böse and in some words similarly to i in
English bird
* å is pronounced similarly to o in English often

Consonants
Danish has 15 consonants (in its writing system): p, t, k, b, d, g, m, n, f, s, h, v, l, j, and r
(additionally in older written text and in load words letters c, w, x and z can appear). Some
contonants are mute:

* d is not pronounced after ld (guld), nd (mund), rd (gård) and before dt (midt), ds (plads).
(cf. norwegian gull, munn, plass)
* g is hardly/not pronounced after i (pige), y (syg), u (sluge).
* h is not pronounced before v (hvis) and j (hjælp). It is pronounced in other combinations,
however.

1. Russerne angriber FN. Landets udenrigsminister siger FNs krigsforbryderdomstol både er

politisk og subjektiv. Igor Ivanov udfald kom på NATOs udenrigsministermøde i Firenze i
aftes. Det fortæller Ritzaus udsendte Terkil Svenson:
"(Ivanov) sagde også at Rusland er kategorisk imod domstolens udbredte brug af hemmelige
sigtelser, og folk ikke ved at de står på listen over anklagede krigs-forbrydere, før de en skønne
morgen pludselig bliver arresteret af NATOs soldater."
Ivanov undskyldte, at Rusland i sidste månede modtog den krigsforbryderefterlyste
jugoslaviske forsvarsminister med fuld honnør. Det var en svipser, siger Ivanov.
2. Politi og skattevæsnet var i går på øl razzia på havnen i Frederikshavn. Her udleverede en 46
årig svensker billig øl og vin, som han havde hentet i Tyskland, og som andre svenskere på
forhånd havde betalt for om bord på Sverigesfærgen. Den 46 årige svensker står nu til en bøde
på 5000 kr for overtrædelse af næringsloven og så skal han endvidere betale omkring 33.000 kr
i afgifter og moms til det danske skattevæsen.

Useful everyday expressions in Danish Hverdags udtryk på dansk

Hi! Hej! / Dav!
Yes. No. Ja. Nej.
Excuse me / I'm sorry Unskyld mig / Unskyld
Thank you! Tak!
Good morning/afternoon/evening! God morgen/eftermiddag/aften!
Good bye / See you! Farvel / Vi ses!
I love you. Jeg elsker dig.
Do you speak English? Taler du engelsk?
Help! Hjælp!
How much is it? Hvad koster det?
What's the time? Hvad er klokken?
Where is the nearest police station / hospital? Hvor er den nærmeste politi station / det
nærmeste sygehus?
Could you translate it? Vil du oversætte det?
Can you say it in English? Kan du sige det på engelsk?
What's your name? My name is Thomas. Hvad hedder du? Jeg hedder Thomas.
How old are you? I am 20 years old. Hvor gammel er du? Jeg er 20 år gammel.

Signs

Pas på! Caution!

Udgang Exit
Herrer Gentlemen
Damer Ladies
Åben Open
Lukket Closed
Rygning forbudt No smoking
Virker ikke i stykker It doesn’t work
i uorden Out of order

Grammatical vocabulary Grammatiske betegnelser

Danish English Danish English
navneord noun omvendt ordtilling inversion
ental singular flertal plural
kendeord article bestemt definite
ubestemt indefinite ejefald genetive
endelse suffix stedord pronoun
tilbagevisende reflexive eje possessive
påpegende demonstrative henførende relative
spørgende interrogative personligt personal
tillægsord adjective 1. grad positive
2. grad c o m p a r a t i v e

3. grad superlative
gradbøjning comparison udsangsord verb
handleform active lideform passive
bydeform imperative navneform infinitive
nutid present tense datid past tense
før nutid perfect før datid pluperfect
fremtid future fortids fremtid future in the past
før fremtid future perfect lang (tillægsform) present participle
kort (tillægsform) past participle uregelmæssig irregular
forstavelse prefix bøjning conjugation
stammen stem mådes-udsangsord modal verb
hjælpe-udsangsord auxiliary verb medlyd consonant
selvlyd vowel biord adverb
bindeord conjunction forholdsord preposition
talord numeral led-stilling syntax
ordstilling syntax hoved-sætning main clause
led-sætning subordinate clause genstandsled object
hensynsled indirect object
omsagnsled til grundled subject complement
omsagnsled til gendstandsled object complement

•••••••••••••••••••••••
http://tsca.freeshell.org/cgi/dk-en.pl
dictionnaire danois-anglais

Pronunciation guide
[a] underlined vowel means stress
[:] means a long vowel
( ) sound can be omitted

a [a] as in cat kan [ka’n] (can), mand [man’] (man)

[a] open as in far (without r) gammel [gaml] (old)

b [b] as in English barn [ba’n] child, bo [bo’] (live)

c [s] as in English before e/i citron [sitro’n] (lemon)

[k] before other vowels cacao [kakao]

[sh] as in shine, written ch in Danish chokolade [shokola:z]

d [d]as in day, in the beginning of a word dreng [drèng] (boy)

[z]as th in they after a vowel gade [ga:zè] (street)
[ ]mute after l, n, r and before t, s holdt [hôl’t] (stop), godt (gôt) (good)

e [é]closed e as French é leve [le:vé] (live), mene [me:né] (mean)

[è]open e as in let or as in French è, in the end and in a a diphthong spise [sbi:sè] (eat)
s jette [s yè:dè] (6th), halvfjers [halfyèrs ]

[a]open as in far (without r) before g and j jeg [yai] (I), meget [maièz] (very), vej
[vai’]

f [f] as in English far [fa:] (farther)

g [g] as in girl, in the beginning of a word give [gi:vè] or [gi] (give)

[u] as in soon inside or in the end of a word brag [bra’u] (bang), drage [dra:uè] (kite)
[ng] as ng in sing synge [sîngè] (sing), sang [sang’]
(song)
[i] as in live, after a wovel jeg [yai] (I), nøgle [nöilè] (key)

[ ] sometines silent inside a word tag [ta’] (roof), tage [ta:è] (roofs, take)

h [h]
[h] as in English, in the beginning of a word
mute in hv-words and before j hat [had] (hat)
hvem [vèm’] (who), hvad [va(z)] (what)

i [i]
[e]
as in feel
closed e as in inn or as French é
Note: i is never pronounced [ai] liv [liu’] (life), ville [vilè] (would)
vil [vel] (will (present tense))
as in English I am

j [y]
[i] as in yes
after a vowel ja [ya] (yes), jeg [yai] (I)
vej [vai’] (way/road)

k [k] as in English can kan [ka’(n)] (can)

l [l] as in English (not American) like lille [lilè] (small)

m [m] as in English meet mor [moa] (mother)

n [n]
[ng] as in English name
in ng in song, before k/g ni [ni’] (nine)
sang [sang’] (song), anker [angka] (anchor)

o [ô]
[o] closed almost as in november
sometimes open almost as in open skole [skô:l(è)] (school)
bold [bol’d] (ball)
p [p]
[b] aspirated p as in British English Peter
inaspirated p as in American, after s Peter [Pe’da]
spise [sbi:sè] (eat)

q [k] not common in Danish

r [r]
[a] almost as French r in rue:
1. in the beginning of a word
2. after a consonant
vocalic r in the end of a word rejse [raisè] (travel)
krise [kri:sè] (crisis)
går [gö’a] (goes), løber [lö’ba] (runs)

s [s] unvoiced as in English see,

voiced s never occurs in Danish se [se’] (see), siger [si:a] (says)

t [t]
[d] asperated t as in British English
unaspirated t as in American, after s tage [ta:è] (take)
stor [sdô’a] (big)

u [u]
[o] as in soon, inside a word
open o almost as in open, before n gul [gu’l] (yellow), guld [gul] (gold)
ung [ong’] (young), Ungarn [onga:n]

v [v]
[u] always as in English very
a fast u-sound, in the end of a word vi [vi’] (we), avis [avi’s] (newspaper)
blev [bleu’] (became), hav [hau] (sea)

w [v] not common in Danish

x [ks] not common in Danish

y [î]
[u] pronounced as [i] with rounded lips,
1. as German ¸ or
2. as French u in sur
specially in the beginning of a word lyve [lî:vè] (lie), lys [lî’s] (light),
lyst [lî'sd] (lightned)

yngre [ungrè] (younger), lyst [lust] (like)

z [s] not common in Danish

æ [è]
[a] open e as in let
open a as in far (without r), after r mælk [mèlk] (milk)
græde [gra:zè] (cry)

ø [ö]
[ö] pronounced as [e] with rounded lips:
1. as German ö or
2. as in French heureux
more open than œ, as in french cæur øl [öl] (beer), møde [mö:z(è)] (meet, meeting)

gøre [gö:a] (do), nøgle [nöilè] (key)

å [o] open o as in openpå [po’] (on), åben [o:bèn] (open)

[’] glottal stop

Glottal stop

The glottal stop is very important and something special for Danish, as it is a sound not found
in many languages. It is a phoneme that can give some words quite another meaning. It is not
an unknown sound in English and is sometimes heard in energetic speech and particularly in
"not" [no’t] in London English. For foreigners the glottal stop may be difficult to use correctly,
but never mind even Danes cannot always use it correctly particularly not if they are speaking
one of our dialects.
The glottal stop only hits the stressed (accented) syllable of a word.
Both vowels and consonants can be hit but never a long vowel.
The glottal stop is indicated by a [’]

Examples:

Without glottal stop With glottal stop

løber [lö:ba] (a runner) løber [lö’ba] (runs)

tager [ta:a] (takes) tag [ta’] (take!, roof)
anden [a:nn] (other) anden [an’n] (the duck)
boret [bo:az] (drilled) bordet [bo’az] (the table)
bæst [bèsd] (best) bæst [bè’sd] (fool)
bønner [böna] (beans, prayers) bønder [bön’a] (farmers)
hun [hun] (she) hund [hun’] (dog)
møller [möla] (miller) Møller [möl’a] (Miller, name)
skal [sga(l)] (shall) skal [sga’l] (shell)
skærende[sgèrènè](cutting) skærene[sgè’rènè](the gleams)
såret [soaz] (injured) såret [so’az] (wound)
tal [tal] (number) tal [ta’l] (speak!)
ved [vez] (at, by) ved [vez’] (knows)
ender [èna] ((it) ends) ænder [èn’a] (ducks)

Notice: Danish vowels can be open or closed and they can be long or short

ARTICLES

There are 2 articles in Danish: common and neuter

1. Indefinite Articles:
Common Neuter
Singular en et

Usage: as in English: en bil (a car), et hus (a house)

Note: 1. The indefinite article is not used before a noun denoting a profession, nationality,
religion:
han er læge (he is a doctor) hun er lærer (she is a teacher)
jeg er dansker (I am a Dane) du er amerikaner (you are an american)
2. The indefinite article is used before an adjective:
han er en god læge (he is a good doctor) hun er en dygtig lærer (she is a
clever teacher)
jeg er en høj dansker (I am a tall Dane)
3. The indefinite article is used when a relative clause follows the noun:
han er en læge, som jeg kender (he is a doctor whom I know)
hun er en dansker, der bor i Tyskland (she is a Dane who lives in Germany)

2. Definite Articles:
Common Neuter
Singular den, -n/-en det, -t/-et
Plural de, -ne/-ene de, -ne/-ene

Note: a consonant is doubled after a short vowel: bus, bussen; hotel, hotellet
Usage: 1. The definite articles are normally added to a singular or plural noun:
bilen (the car) huset (the house)
bilerne (the cars) husene (the houses)
 bilen er rød (the car is red)
bilerne er røde (the cars are red)
husene er hvide (the houses are white)

2. The definite articles are placed before an adjective, as in English:

den røde bil (the red car),
det store hus (the big house)
de røde biler (the red cars),
de store huse (the big houses)

Note: The definite article is often used before an abstract noun:

livet er kort (life is short) tilbage til naturen (back to nature)

SUBSTANTIVES (NOUNS)

1. Genders: there are 2 genders in Danish:

a. common (n-words) representing both masculine and feminine nouns
b. neuter (t-words)

2. Plural: are formed by adding suffixes to the singular form of the noun:
1. -e (some words ending in a consonant): dag/dage (day/days)
2. -r (words ending in -e): uge/uger (week/weeks)
3. -er (other words ending in a consonant): måned/måneder (month/months)
4. the same: år (year/years)
5. irregular: barn/børn (child/children)

3. Cases: nouns are only inflected in the genitive:

1. genitive: -s (is added to the last ending of the word):
en bils dør (the door of a car)
bilens dør (the door of the car),
bilers døre (doors of cars)
bilernes døre (the doors of the cars)
mandens (the man's)
bilens farve er rød (the colour of the car is red)
mandens hat er sort (the man's hat is black)
2. genitive: the english "of-construction" is not used very often:
døren af bilen (the door of the car)
Better: døren på bilen or bilens dør

4. Order of the added suffixes:

noun pluralarticle genitive English
dreng s boy's
dreng en s the boy's
drenge ne s the boys'
hus et s of the house
hus e ne s of the houses
måned er ne s of the months

ADJECTIVES

1. Word Order: an attributive adjective is placed before the noun as in English (see also
Articles):
en rød bil (a red car)

2. Inflection: A. Attributive adjectives must agree in gender with the noun they modify:
a. indef. article -. adjective + t - noun (t-word):
et stort hus (a big house)
et rødt tag (a red roof)
b. indef. article - adjective (base form) - noun (n-word):
en stor mand (a big man)
en rød bog (a red book)
c. def. article - adjective + e - noun (sing./plural):
det store hus (the big house)
den røde bil (the red car)
de store huse (the big houses)
de røde biler the red cars)

B. Predicative adjectives must agree in gender with the noun they modify:
a. indef. article - noun (t-word) - verb - adjective + t:
et hus er stort (a house is big)
et tag er rødt (a roof is red)
b. indef. article - noun (n-word) - verb - adjective (base form):
en bil er rød (a car is red)
en mand er stor (a man is big)
c. noun (t-word)+ def.article - verb - adjective + t:
huset er stort (the house is big)
taget er rødt (the roof is red)
d. noun (n-word)+ def.article - verb - adjective (base form):
bilen er rød (the car is red)
manden er stor (the man is big)
e. noun (plural) (+ def.article) - verb - adjective + e:
husene er store (the houses are big)
bilerne er røde (the cars are red)
huse og biler er dyre (houses and cars are expensive)
 C. Irregular:
lille (small/little, singular):
the same in all forms in singular:
et/det lille hus (a/the small house)
en/den lille bil (a/the small car)
små (small/little, plural):
the same in all forms in plural:
små huse (small houses)
de små huse (the small houses)
de små biler (the small cars)
Note: 1. If -e is added to an adjective ending in -en or -el the first -e- dissapears:
gammel (old):
han er gammel (he is old)
den gamle mand (the old man)
de er gamle (they are old)
sulten (hungry):
han er sulten (he is hungry)
det sultne barn (the hungry child)
de er sultne (they are hungry)
2. Adjectives ending in -e never change:
et lille barn (a small child)
det stille barn (the quiet child)
3. Adjectives ending in -sk never add -t:
en rask dreng (a healthy boy)
et rask barn (a healthy child)
de raske børn (the healthy children)
4. An adjective can also be used as a noun (without a supporting word):
en hvid hest og 2 sorte (a white horse and 2 black ones)

3. Comparison: a. Regular forms add -ere, -est to the adjective:

comparative: -ere: varm/varmere (warm/warmer)
superlative: -est: varm/varmest (warm/warmest)
b. Regular forms with mere, mest are used as in English:
comparative: mere: han er mere mere venlig (he is more kind)
superlative: mest: han er den mest venlige (he is the most kind)
c. Irregular forms with less irregularities:
lang/længere/længst (long/longer/longest)
stor/større/størst (big/bigger/biggest)
d. Quite irregular forms:
lille - mindre - mindst (small/smaller/smallest)
god - bedre - bedst (good/better/best)
Usage: The superlative is used in Danish when 2 things are compared:
kaffe eller te, hvad kan du bedst lide? (coffee or the, which do you like better?)
NUMERALS

1. Cardinal Numbers :

Numbers from 1 to 20
1 en, et 11 elleve
2 to 12 tolv
3 tre 13 tretten
4 fire 14 fjorten
5 fem 15 femten
6 seks 16 seksten
7 syv 17 sytten
8 otte 18 atten
9 ni 19 nitten
10 ti 20 tyve

Numbers from 21 to 1000

21 enogtyve 101 hundrede og en
22 toogtyve 102 hundrede og to
23 treogtyve 200 to hundrede
30 tredive 300 tre hundrede
40 fyrre 400 fire hundrede
50 halvtreds 500 fem hundrede
60 tres 600 seks hundrede
70 halvfjerds 700 syv hundrede
80 firs 800 otte hundrede
90 halvfems 900 ni hundrede
100 hundrede 1000 tusind(e)

The year 1998 is written:

nitten hundrede otteoghalvfems
The year 2001 is written:
to tusind(e) og et

2. Ordinal Numbers
1st første
2nd anden
3rd tredie
4th fjerde
5th femte
6th sjette
7th syvende
8th ottende
9th niende
10th tiende
PRONOUNS

1. Personal Pronouns
persons subject forms object forms
1. sing jeg (I) mig (me)
2. sing du (you) dig (you)
3. sing han (he) ham (him)
3. sing hun (she) hende (her)
3. sing den/det (it) den/det (it)
3. sing De (you, polite) Dem (you, polite)
1. pl. vi (we) os (us)
2. pl. I (you) jer (you)
3. sing de (they) dem (them)
3. sing De (you, polite) Dem (you, polite)

Usage: The object forms are used both as direct and indirect objects.

The personal pronouns are used as in English:

jeg giver dig et æble (I give you an apple)

han ser hende (he sees her)
jeg giver det til hende (I give it to her)

Indirect object precedes the direct object:

jeg giver hende det (I give it her)

or: jeg giver det til hende (I give it to her)

2. Possessive Pronouns
min/mit/mine (my, mine)
din/dit/dine (your, yours)
hans (his)
hendes (her, hers)
Deres (your, yours, polite)
dens/dets (its)
vores (our, ours)
jeres (your, yours)
deres (their, theirs)
Deres (your, yours, polite)

Usage: All the forms are used both attributively and predicatively:
 min bil er her (my car is here)
det er mit hus (it is my house)
det er mine biler/houses (they are my cars/houses)
det er min (bilen) (it is mine (the car))
det er mit (huset) (is is mine (the house))
det er mine (biler/huse) (they are mine (cars/houses))

3. Demonstrative Pronouns

written forms spoken forms english

sing. denne/dette den her, det her this
sing. den/det den der, det der that
pl. disse de her these
pl. de der (over) de der (over) those (over there)
neuter det det it

Usage: The written forms can also be used in speech, but in daily speech
we normally use the spoken forms.

Note: The spoken forms consist of 2 words, which can be placed both before the noun
or the noun can be placed between the 2 words:

denne bil er rød (this car is red) written form

den her bil er rød (this car is red) spoken form
den bil her er rød (this car is red) spoken form

dette hus er stort (this house is big) written form

det her hus er stort (this house is big) spoken form
det hus her er stort (this house is big) spoken form

disse huse (these houses) writen form

de her huse (these houses) spoken form
de huse her (these houses) spoken form

but: de huse der over er mine (those houses over there are mine)

4. Relative Pronouns
som (who/which/that) can be both subject and object:

manden som er her (the man who is here) som/who is the subject
manden som jeg så (the man who I saw) som/who is the object

der (who/which/that) can only be subject:

 manden der er her (the man who is here) der/who is the subject
*manden der jeg så (the man who I saw) der/who is the object, and the
sentence is wrong

Usage: som/der are the 2 most used pronouns in Danish and they are used mostly as in
English.
But when a preposition is used together with a relative pronoun
the preposition is placed at the end of the sentence:

manden som jeg gav bogen til (the man to whom I gave the book)

The relative pronoun can be omitted as in English:

her er pigen, (som) jeg elsker

here is the girl (that) I love

5. Indefinite Pronouns

nogle (some) pronounced (no·n):

jeg har nogle venner (I have some friends)

nogen (any) pronounced (no·n):

har du nogen venner? (do you have any friends?)

noget (something) pronounced (nå·t):

han må gøre noget (he must do something)

ingen, ikke nogen (no, nobody):

han har ingen venner (he has no friends)
han har ikke nogen venner (he has no friends)
jeg kender ingen her (I do not know anybody here)
jeg kender ikke nogen hen (I know nobody here)

intet, ikke noget (no, nothing):

der er intet at gøre (there is nothing to do)
der er ikke noget at gøre (there is nothing to do)

enhver (everybody):
enhver må gøre noget (everybody must do something)

alle (all (persons)):

jeg så dem alle (I saw them all)
 alt (all (neuter)):
det var alt (that was all)

man (one, you, we) is not found in English and can only be used as subject,
it is the same as on in French and man in German:

man må ikke ryge her (you must not smoke here/smoking not allowed)

man is often used in stead of the passive voice:

man må ikke ryge (=der må ikke ryges) (smoking is not allowed)

6. Reflexive Pronouns
1. sing. mig (myself)
2. sing. dig (yourself)
3. sing. sig (himself/herself/itself)
1. pl. os (ourselves)
2. pl. jer (yourselves)
3. pl. sig (themselves)

Usage: Subject and object is the same person:

jeg vasker mig (I wash myself)

han vasker sig (he washes himself) sig is a reflexive pronoun
but: han vasker ham (he washes him (another person)) him is a personal prounoun

Reflexive verbs in Danish are not always reflexive in English:

de giftede sig i kirken (they got married in the church)

vi satte os ned (we sat down)
jeg vendte mig om (I turned round)

7. Interrogative Pronouns and Adverbs

hvem (who,whom): hvem er det? (who is is?)

hvis (whose): hvis hund er dette (whose dog is this?)
hvad (what): hvad er dette? (what is this?)
hvad er der sket? (what has happened?)

hvilken/hvilket/hvilke (which):
hvilken bog tog han? (which book did he take?)
hvilke bøger tog han? (which books did he take?)
 hvor (where): hvor bor han? (where does he live?)
hvornår (when): hvornår kommer han? (when will he come?)
hvordan (how): hvordan er det sket? (how did it happen)

hvor længe, hvor lang tid (how long time):

hvor længe har han været her?
(how long time has he been here?)

The same pronouns can also be used in interrogative subordinate clauses

jeg ved ikke, hvem han er (I do not know who he is)
jeg ved ikke, hvis hund det er (I do not know whose dog it is)
han ved ikke, hvad de hedder (I do not know what he is called)
jeg ved ikke, hvilke bøger han tog (I do not know what/which books he took)
jeg ved ikke, hvor han bor (I do not know where he lives)

Note: These pronouns cannot be the subject in a subordinate clause, der or det must be
added:
a. det + a form of "være/blive/hedde"
b. der + another verb
a. jeg ved ikke, hvem det er (I do not know who it is)
b. jeg ved ikke, hvem der kommer (I do not know who is coming)
a1. jeg ved ikke, hvad det er/var (I do not know what it is/was)
a2. jeg ved ikke, hvad det bliver (I do not know what the price will be)
b1. jeg ved ikke, hvad der er sket (I do not know what has happened (the
verb is "sker"))
b2. jeg kan ikke høre, hvad der siges (passive voice (I cannot hear what they
are saying))

VERBS

General: a. Verbs are not conjugated in persons only in tenses.

b. In a dictionary verbs are found in the infinitive form.

c. The infinitive ends normally in -e

but words consisting of one syllable and ending with an unstressed vowel
do not add -e.

d. If the infinitive does not end in -e

then the infinitive and the base form are the same: bo (live), gå (go), se (see)

e. Base form (or stem) is infinitive without -e:

syng (=synge minus -e) (sing).
1. Present Tense
is formed by adding -r to the infinitive in all persons:

infinitive: synge + -r = synger (sing/sings)

jeg/du/han/vi/I/de synger (I/you/he/we/they sing/sings)

infinitive: bo, stå + -r = bor, står (live/lives, stand/stands)

Usage: The present tense is used as in English, but it is also used as the future tense:

jeg kommer i morgen (I shall come tomorrow)

The progressive form (-ing form) in English

can in Danish be expressed in different ways, eg.:

a. present tense: han læser (he is reading)

b. periphrastic construction with:

sidder/står/ligger og + present tense:
han sidder og læser (he is reading)

c. periphrastic construction with:

er ved at + infinitive:
han er ved at læse (he is reading)

2. Past Tense
there are 2 regular conjugations (see also Present perfect):

a. Regular conjugation, group I (the biggest group):

Base form + -ede (the same in all persons):
husk, lav = huskede (remembered), lavede (made)
bo, vask = boede (lived), vaskede (washed)

b. Regular conjugation, group II:

Base form + -te (the same in all persons):
læs, spis = læste (read), spiste (ate)
køb, vis = købte (bought), viste (showed)

c. Irregular conjugation:
 var (was/were), så (saw), gik (went),
sagde (pronounced (sä·) (said),

Usage: The past tense is used as in English.

The progressive form (-ing form) in English

can in Danish be expressed in different ways, eg.:

a. past tense: han læste (he was reading)

b. periphrastic construction with:

sad/stod/lå og + present tense:
han sad og læste (he was reading)

c. periphrastic construction with:

var ved at + infinitive:
han var ved at læse (he was reading)

3. Present Perfect
is formed with har or er before the past participle (see past participle):

jeg har købt et hus (I have bought a house)

jeg er gået i sent (I have gone to bed)

Usage: The present tense is used with har or er and they are
the same in all persons.

"har" is normally used: han har spist (he has eaten)

"er" is used if a movement has taken place:

han er gået (he has gone (away))
but: han har gået hele dagen (he has been walking the whole day)

and in the passive voice: maden er blevet spist (the food has been eaten)

4. Past perfect is formed with havde or var before the past participle (see past participle):

jeg havde købt et hus (I had bought a house)

jeg var gået i sent (I had gone to bed)

Usage: as Present Perfect.

5. Future tense is formed with skal/vil before the infinitive
or simply by using the present tense:

jeg skal rejse i morgen (I shall go tomorrow)

jeg vil rejse i morgen (I shall go tomorrow)
jeg rejser i morgen (I shall go tomorrow)

IRREGULAR VERBS

They are the same in all persons:

jeg/du/han/hun/vi/I/de bliver
jeg/du/han/hun/vi/I/de blev
jeg/du/han/hun/vi/I/de er blevet

Verbs with * are modal verbs

Verbs with ** are auxiliary verbs
Verbs with *** are modal and auxiliary verbs

Here are the most common irregular verbs:

Infinitive English Present tense Past tense Present perfect
at blive** become bliverblev er blevet
at drikke drink drikker drak har drukket
at dø die dør døde er død
at få** get får fik har fået
at give give giver gav har givet
at gøre do gør gjorde har gjort
at gå go går gik er/har gået
at have** have har havde har haft
at komme come kommer kom er kommet
at kunne* could kan kunne har kunnet
at lade let lader lod har ladet
at le laugh ler lo har leet
at ligge lie down liggerlå har ligget
at lægge lay lægger lagde har lagt
at løbe run løber løb har løbet
at måtte* may, must må måtte har måttet
at se see ser så har set
at sidde is sitting sidder sad har siddet
at sige say siger sagdehar sagt
at skrive write skriver skrev har skrevet
at skulle*** should skal skulle har skullet
at sove sleep sover sov har sovet
at spørge ask spørger spurgte har spurgt
at stå stand står stod har stået
at sælge sell sælger solgte har solgt
at sætte put, sit down sætter satte har sat
at tage take tager tog har taget
at vide knowved vidste har vidst
at ville*** would vil ville har villet
at være** be er var har været

AUXILIARY VERBS

The auxiliary and modal verbs kunne/skulle/ville/måtte are connected to

the infinitive without "at" (as in English):

jeg kan tale dansk (I can speak Danish)

du må gerne komme ind (you may come in)
han ville ikke gøre det (he did not want to do so)

The pronunciation of the auxiliary verbs is a little special, the

last consonant is normally not pronounced:

han kan (pronounced [kä]) komme (he can come)

han vil (pronounced [ve]) komme (he will come)
han skal (pronounced [sgä]) komme (he shall come)
han skulle (pronounced [sgu]) komme (he should come)

PARTICIPLES

1. Past participle There are 2 regular conjugations of the past participle:

a. Regular conjugation, group I (the biggest group):

Base form + -et (the same in all persons):
husk, lav = husket (remembered), lavet (made)
bo, vask = boet (lived), vasket (washed)

b. Regular conjugation, group II:

Base form + -t (the same in all persons):
læs, spis = læst (read), spist (eaten)
køb, vis = købt (bought), vist (showed)
Usage: It is used to form the compound tenses (present perfect and past perfect):
jeg har/havde købt en ny bil (I have/had bought a new car)

The past participle can also be used as an adjective (and is inflected (see adjectives)):
den spiste kage (the eaten cake)
en spist kage (an eaten cake)

The past participle has a passive signification:

den spiste kage (= the cake that has been eaten)

2. Present participle
The present participle is formed by adding -ende to the base form:

smilende (smil + -ende), gående (gå + -ende).

Usage: It can be used like the English -ing form only after kommer/kom, blive/blev:
han kom gående (he came walking)
hun blev stående (she kept standing)

Notice: The English -ing form (progressive form) is constructed in another way in Danish:
the girl is smiling = pigen smiler, pigen sidder/står/ligger og smiler
(subject (the girl) + verbal (is smiling))

Notice: pigen er smilende = the girl is a smiling girl

(subject (pigen) + verb (er) + subject complement (smilende))

The present participle can also be used as an adjective

but it is not inflected:
den smilende pige (the smiling girl)
en smilende pige (a smiling girl)
et/det smilende barn (a/the smiling child)
de smilende børn (the smiling children)

The past participle has an active signification:

den smilende pige (the girl that is smiling)
INFINITIVE

Infinitive is the form that is found in a dictionary and ends normally in -e.

If infinitive does not end in -e then the infinitive and the base form are the same:
 bo (live, lives)
gå (go, goes)
stå (stand, stands)

1. Infinitive without "at":

a. together with auxiliary verbs:

jeg kan komme i morgen (I can come tomorrow)
jeg kan ikke komme (I cannot come)

b. accusative-infinitive after verbs of sensing:

jeg så ham komme (I saw him come)

2. Infinitive together with "at":

a. after a preposition: han kom for at besøge mig (he came to see me)

b. subject: at rejse er dyrt (travelling is expensive)

c. predicate: hans mål var at rejse (his goal was to travel)

d. object: han ønskede at komme (he wanted to come)

SUBJUNCTIVE

The subjunctive is not used in modern Danish but is stil used

in some old sayings:

Gud velsigne Danmark (God bless Denmark)

Gud være med dig (God be with thou)

PASSIVE VOICE

General: The passive voice is formed in 2 ways.

Sometimes you may decide for yourself which one you want to use,
other times there is a sligh difference between the 2 forms and again
 other times you can only use one of them.

1. s-passive:

The present tense has -s (instead of -r in active form): sælges (active: sælger)

bogen sælges (the book is sold)

The past tense adds -s to the active form: solgtes (active: solgte)

bogen solgtes (the book was sold)

2. blive-passive:

The present tense: bliver + past participle:

bogen bliver solgt (the book is sold)

The past tense: blev + past participle:

bogen blev solgt (the book was sold))

ADVERBS

General: Adverbs can qualify different words:

a. a verb: hun synger smukt (she sings beautifully)

b. an adjective: han er meget stor (he is very big)
c. another adverb: hun synger ganske smukt (she sings quite beautifully)
d. a sentence: selvfølgelig ville han komme (of course he would come)

Types: There are more types of adverbs:

a. adverbs made of an adjective + t: smuk/smukt (beautiful/beautifully)

b. true adverbs (can not be changed): ikke/aldrig/kun (not/never/only)
 c. prepositions without a regimen: han tog hatten på (he took his hat on)

Comparison:

Some adverbs can be compared (irregular comparion):

base form comparative superlative

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
godt bedre bedst (well/better/best)
længe længere længst (long time/longer/longest)
gerne hellere helst (are not found in English)

jeg vil gerne komme (I should like to come)

Two-form adverbs:

Adverbs describing a direction have long and short forms:

ind/inde (in), ud/ude (out), op/oppe (up), ned/nede (down)

1. Short forms describe a movement from one place to another:

han går ind i haven (he goes into the garden)

(German: er geht in den Garden)
han kravler op i træet (he climbs up into the tree)
(er klettert auf den Baum)

2. Long forms describe a movement within the same place:

han går inde i haven (he walks inside the garden)

(German: er geht im Garden)
han er oppe i træet (he is up on the tree)
(German: er ist im Baum)

PREPOSITIONS
General: Prepositions are always used with a regimen (noun, pronoun or infinitive).
If they have no regimen (standing alone) they are adverbs:

han tog hatten på hovedet (he put his hat on his head): preposition
han tog hatten på (he put his hat on): adverb

i (in/at/to/for)

a. place (town, country, street):

han bor i København/Danmark (he lives in Copenhagen/Denmark)

de bor i Nørregade (they live at North Street)
han går i skole (he goes to school)
jeg går i seng nu (I go to bed now)

b. time (clock, how long time?)

den er 10 minutter i 5 (it's ten to five)

jeg har boet her i 2 år (I have lived here for 2 years) how long time?

c. special expressions:

han lukkede døren (i): (he closed the door)

jeg underviser i dansk: (I teach Danish)
hun er forelsket i ham: (she is in love with him)

på (on/upon/in/at/of)

a. place (island, road):

de bor på Sjælland (they live in Seeland)

han bor på Nyvej (he lives at New Road)
jeg bor på landet (I live in the country (not town))
bogen er på bordet (the book is on the table)

b. time (day, how fast?):

jeg rejser på mandag (I shall leave on Monday)

han gjorde det på en time (he did it in one hour (how fast?)) how fast?
 c. genitive:

farven på bilen (=bilens farve) (the colour of the car)

til (to/until)

a. place:

jeg rejser til Danmark (I shall go to Denmark)

b. time:

banken er åben til kl. 17 (the bank is open until 5 PM)

c. dative:

jeg giver bogen til ham (I am giving the book to him)

(= jeg giver ham bogen (I am giving him the book))

af (of/by)

ringen er lavet af guld (the ring is made of gold)

ringen er lavet af manden (the ring is made by the man) passive voice

efter (after)

for....siden (ago)

han kom for en time siden (he came an hour ago)

fra (from)

med (with)

om, rundt om (round/in, when?)

hun har en halskæde om halsen (she has a necklace round her neck)
jeg kommer om en time (I shall come in an hour) when?
 over (over/past/cross)

han gik over gaden (he crossed the street)

den er 10 minutter over 4 (it's 10 minutes past 4)

under (under/below/during)

hunden ligger under bordet (the dog is under the table)

temperaturen er under 0 grader (the temperature is below 0 degrees)
han var her under krigen (he was here during the war)

CONJUNCTIONS

Conjunctions connect words, elements and clauses.

1. Co-ordinating Conjunctions: og/eller/men (and/or/but)

drengen og pigen (the boy and the girl)

2. Subordinating Conjunctions:

are always the first word in a subordinate clause:

at (that)

han sagde, at han var syg (he said that he was ill)

om (if/whether)

jeg ved ikke, om han kommer (I don't know if he will come)

når (when)

present tense: han kommer, når han kan (he comes when he can)
future tense: jeg går, når det er tiden (I shall go when it's time)
past tense (every time): han spiste, når han var sulten (he always ate when he was
hungry)
 da (when)
past tense (once): han spiste, da han var sulten (he ate when/because he was
hungry)

IMPERATIVE

The imperative is always the base form of a verb:

gå din vej! (go away!)

gå jeres vej! (go away!)
spis din mad! (eat your food!)
sov godt! (sleep well!)

FORMAL SUBJECTS

The first subject (det/der) in a clause always refers to the real subject

1. "det" (it):

a. When the real subject is an infinitive/phrase:

det er godt at være her (it is good to be here)

b. When the real subject is a subordinate clause:

det er godt, at han kan gøre det (it is good that he can do so)
c. As an impersonal subject:
det regner/sner/blæser (it is raining/snowing/windy)
d. when the complement is a noun, or possessive pronoun in plural::
det er mine venner (they are my friends)
det er også dine (they are also yours)
but: de er store (they are big) (the complement is an adjective)
e. The personal pronoun can also be used if the complement is a noun in singular:
det/han er min ven (it/he is my friend)
 2. "der" (there):

a. When referring to an adverbial (as in English):

der er 2 drenge her i huset (there are 2 boys in this house)

b. When referring to an infinite amount (as in English):

der er mange folk her (there are many people here)

c. As a subject in a passive clause:

der sås mange folk på gaden (many people were seen in the street)
(=man så mange folk på gaden)

d. expresions concerning distance (English "it"):

der er langt til America (it is a long way to America)

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Yes = ja/jo.

When you ask with a negative question, the positive answer is "jo"

Questions Positive answers Negative answers

kender du ham? (do you know him?) ja, jeg gør (yes, I do) nej, jeg gør ikke (no, I
don't) kender du ham ikke?(don't you know him?)j o , j e g g ø r ( y e s , I d o )
nej, jeg gør ikke (no, I don't)
du kender ham ikke?(you know him, don't you?) jo, jeg gør(yes, I do) nej, jeg gør ikke(no, I
don't)

Note: The finite verb can be repeated in the answer if it is a modal verb or an auxiliary verb
(have/be),
 otherwise the answer is followed by a form of "gøre" as in English:
kender du ham? ja, jeg gør (do you know him? yes, I do)
kendte du ham? ja, jeg gjorde (did you know him? yes, I did)
kan du kende ham? ja, jeg kan (can you recognize him? yes, I can)
har du kendt ham? ja, jeg har (have you known him? yes, I have)
har du kunnet kende ham? ja, jeg har (have you been able to recognize him? yes, I
have)
vil du kunne kende ham? ja, jeg vil (vil you be able to recognize him? yes, I will)

WORD ORDER

1. Normal Word Order (subject + verb)

a. In a main clause beginning with the subject:

jeg kan se en bil på gaden (I can see a car in the street)

b. In a main clause beginning with a conjuncion og/men:

men jeg kan ikke se ham (but I cannot see him)

c. Always in subordinate clauses:

jeg vidste, at han ville komme (I knew that he would come)

2. Inversion (verb + subject or finite verb + subject + infinite verb)

only occurs in main clauses

Main rule: If the subject is not the first word in a main clause,
there will be an inversion

a. In questions:
kommer du i morgen? (will you come tomorrow?)

b. If an adverb/phrase, object or conjunction claus precedes the subject:

an adverb precedes the subject:

nu kommer jeg (now I am coming)
but: jeg kommer nu (now I am coming) adverb after subject

an adverb phrase precedes the subject:

i morges stod jeg tidligt op (this morning I got up early)

an object (for emphasising) precedes the subject:

drengen kender jeg ikke (I don't know the boy)
 but: jeg kender ikke drengen (I don't know the boy)

if a subordinate clause comes before the main clause:

hvis jeg havde penge, ville jeg købe en bil (if I had money, I would buy a car)
(jeg ville købe en bil, hvis jeg havde penge)

POSITION OF SMALL ADVERBS

Small adverbs are:

ikke, aldrig, altid, kun, snart, gerne

(not, never, always, only, soon, "should like")

A. The position of the small adverbs in subordinate clauses is always after the subject
SAV (subject+adverb+finite verb):

han siger, at han ikke kommer (he says that he does not come)
S A V

han siger, at han ikke vil komme (he says that he will not come)
S A V

han har en bog, som han aldrig har læst (he has a book that he has never read)
S A V

B. Position of small adverbs in main clauses is

1. Normal word order (the adverb is after the finite verb):

SVA (subject+verb+adverb) or
S V1 A V2 object(subject+finite+adverb+infinte verb+object)

a. if there is no object
or the object is a substantive (phrase)
or the verb consists of 2 words:

han kommer ikke (he does not come) (no object)

jeg kender ikke manden (I do not know the man) (the object is a noun)
S V A

jeg har ikke kendt manden (I have not known the man) (the verb is 2 words: har--
kendt)
 jeg har ikke kendt ham (I have not known him) (the verb is 2 words: har--
kendt)
S V1 A V2

b. One important exception:

if the object(s) are pronouns
and the verb is only 1 word
then the adverb is placed after the object pronoun (S V object(s) A):

jeg kender ham ikke (I do not know him)

S V O A
jeg giver ham den ikke (I do not give it to him)
S V Oi Od A
jeg giver ham ikke bogen (I do not give him the book)
S V Oi A Od

2. Inversion:
VSA (verb+subject+adverb) or
V1 S A V2(finite verb+subject+adverb+infinite verb)

i morgen kommer jeg ikke (tomorrow I shall not come)

V S A

i morgen vil jeg ikke komme (tomorrow I shall not come)

V1 S A V2

i Kolding har jeg aldrig været (I have never been in Kolding)

V1 S A V2

CONSTRUCTION OF SENTENCES

MAIN CLAUSES

1 jeg kender ham ikke

2 men jeg kender ikke manden i huset
3 jeg har ikke set ham i lang tid
4 ham har jeg aldrigset her
5 og stor er han også blevet
6 i dag kommer hun kl. 5
7 kommer hun ikke med bussen ?
8 hvis hun kommer bliverjeg glad
9 hvem er pigen i huset ?
10 hvor har du været henne ?

1. jeg kender ham ikke (I do not know him)

2. men jeg kender ikke manden i huset (but I do not know the man in the house)
3. jeg har ikke set ham i lang tid (I have not seen him for a long time)
4. ham har jeg aldrig set (I have never seen him)
5. og stor er han også blevet (and he has also grown tall)
6. i dag kommer hun kl. 5 (today she will come at 5 o'clock)
7. kommer hun ikke med bussen ? (does she not come by bus ?)
8. hvis hun kommer, bliver jeg glad (if she comes I shall be glad)
9. hvem er pigen i huset ? (who is the girl in the house ?)
10. hvor har du været henne (where have you been ?)

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

1 at han ikke kan komme idag

2 som jeg aldrighar set før
3 der ikke er gået endnu
4 om hun kender ham mere
5 hvis jeg ikke møder hende igen
6 hvornår jeg ser dig igen

1. ...at han ikke kan komme idag (...that he cannot come today)
2. ...som jeg aldrig har set før (...who I have never seen before)
3. ...der ikke er gået endnu (...who has not gone yet)
4. ...om hun kender ham mere (...whether she knows him anymore)
5. ...hvis jeg ikke møder hende igen (...if I do not meet her again)
6. ...hvorår jeg ser dig igen (...when I shall see you again)

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