DANISH GRAMMAR
1- DANISH ALPHABET
The danish alphabet is the same as english. However, there are 3 extra letters that come after the letter Z:
Æ æ
Ø ø
Å å
(The letters above on the left are the capital of the letters on the right)
æ: aae (makes the sound of an A and an e together, but sounds a lot more like an A)
ø: eoh
Å: o (makes the sound of the name of the letter O)
2- WORD ORDER
1 Basic S + V Jeg sover. I sleep.
2 Direct object S + V + DO Jeg læser bogen. I read the book.
3 Indirect object S + V + IO + DO Jeg giver ham bogen. I give him the book.
4 Beneficiary S + V + DO + til + person Jeg køber en bog til ham. I buy a book for him.
5 IO pronoun S + V + IO pronoun + DO Jeg giver ham bogen. I give him the book.
6 Adjective S + være + Adj Bogen er stor. The book is big.
7 Adverb S + V + Adv Han læser hurtigt. He reads quickly.
8 Direct object + adverb S + V + DO + Adv Jeg læser bogen hurtigt. I read the book quickly.
9 Time adverb S + V + Adv(time) Jeg arbejder i dag. I work today.
10 Place adverb S + V + Adv(place) Han bor der. He lives there.
11 Prepositional phrase S + være + Prep + noun Bogen er på bordet. The book is on the table.
12 DO + preposition S + V + DO + Prep + noun Jeg lægger bogen på bordet. I put the book on the table.
13 Determiner + noun Dem + N Denne bog er ny. This book is new.
14 Determiner + adjective + noun Dem + Adj + N Denne store bog er ny. This big book is new.
15 Numeral + noun Num + N To bøger er nye. Two books are new.
16 Conjunction Clause + Conj + Clause Jeg læser, og han skriver. I read and he writes.
17 Conjunction + objects S + V + DO + Conj + S + V + DO Jeg læser bogen, og han skriver et brev. I read the book and he writes a letter.
18 Present passive S + blive + passive V Bogen bliver læst. The book is being read.
19 Passive + agent S + være + PP + Agent Bogen bliver læst af læreren. The book is read by the teacher.
20 Passive + IO S + IO + passive V Bogen bliver givet til ham. The book is given to him.
21 Passive + IO + agent S + passive V + IO + Agent Bogen bliver givet til ham af læreren. The book is given to him by the teacher.
22 Passive + adverb S + passive V + Adv Bogen bliver læst i dag. The book is being read today.
23 Passive + preposition S + passive V + Prep + noun Bogen bliver lagt på bordet. The book is being put on the table.
24 Passive + agent + adverb S + passive V + Adv + Agent Bogen bliver læst i dag af læreren. The book is being read by the teacher today.
25 Passive + agent + IO + adverb S + passive V + IO + Adv + Agent Bogen bliver givet til studenten i dag af læreren. The book is given to the student by the teacher today.
26 Perfect passive S + være + PP Bogen er blevet læst. The book has been read.
27 Perfect passive + agent S + være + PP + Agent Bogen er blevet læst af læreren. The book has been read by the teacher.
28 Future passive S + vil blive + PP Bogen vil blive læst. The book will be read.
29 Future passive + agent S + vil blive + PP + Agent Bogen vil blive læst af læreren. The book will be read by the teacher.
30 Modal passive S + modal + blive + PP Bogen skal læses. The book must be read.
31 Negative S + ikke + V + ... Jeg læser ikke bogen. I do not read the book.
32 Negative passive S + ikke + blive + PP Bogen bliver ikke læst af læreren. The book is not being read by the teacher.
33 Yes/no question V + S + ...? Læser du bogen? Do you read the book?
34 Passive question Blive + S + PP? Bliver bogen læst? Is the book being read?
35 Agent question Hvem + blive + S + PP? Hvem bliver bogen læst af? By whom is the book being read?
36 IO question Hvem + V + S + DO? Hvem giver du bogen til? To whom do you give the book?
37 Imperative V + DO Læs bogen! Read the book!
38 Imperative + IO V + IO + DO Giv ham bogen! Give him the book!
39 Passive imperative Lad + S + blive + PP Lad bogen blive læst! Have/let the book be read!
40 Infinitive V-infinitive at læse to read
41 Infinitive + DO at + V-infinitive + DO at læse bogen to read the book
42 Passive infinitive at + blive + PP at blive læst to be read
43 Purpose S + V + for at + infinitive Jeg spiser for at lege. I eat to play / in order to play.
44 Relative clause N + som/der + clause Bogen, som jeg læser, er interessant. The book that I read is interesting.
45 Passive relative N + som + passive clause Bogen, som bliver læst af læreren, er interessant. The book that is being read by the teacher is interesting.
46 Conditional Hvis + clause, clause Hvis jeg har tid, læser jeg. If I have time, I read.
47 Conditional + passive Hvis + passive clause, clause Hvis bogen bliver læst, lærer han. If the book is read, he learns.
48 Reported speech S + sige + at + clause Han siger, at han læser. He says that he reads.
49 Reported question S + spørge + om + clause Han spørger, om jeg læser. He asks if I read.
50 Reported command/request S + bede + Obj + om at + infinitive Han beder mig om at læse. He asks me to read.
INDIRECT OBJECT:
S + V + IO + DO Jeg giver ham bogen. I give him the book.
S + V + DO + til + IO Jeg giver bogen til ham. I give the book to him.
S + V + IO + DO Hun sender mig en besked. She sends me a message.
S + V + DO + til + IO Hun sender en besked til mig. She sends a message to me.
Passive Bogen bliver givet til ham. The book is given to him.
GENITIVE:
Proper name Name + s Peters bog Peter's book
Singular common noun noun + s pigens bog the girl's book
Singular neuter noun noun + s husets dør the house's door
Plural noun plural + s børns legetøj children's toys
Definite plural plural definite + s børnenes legetøj the children's toys
Personal pronoun possessive form min bog my book
Reflexive sin/sit/sine Han læser sin bog. He reads his own book.
INDEPENDENT POSSESSIVE:
Person Common gender Neuter Plural English
1st singular min mit mine mine / my
2nd singular din dit dine yours / your
3rd singular masculine hans hans hans his
3rd singular feminine hendes hendes hendes hers
3rd singular neuter dets dets dets its
1st plural vores vores vores ours
2nd plural jeres jeres jeres yours
3rd plural deres deres deres theirs
Bogen er min. The book is mine.
Huset er mit. The house is mine.
Bøgerne er mine. The books are mine.
Bogen er din. The book is yours.
Huset er dit. The house is yours.
Bøgerne er dine. The books are yours.
Bilen er hans. The car is his.
Bogen er hendes. The book is hers.
Huset er vores. The house is ours.
Bøgerne er jeres. The books are yours.
Bilen er deres. The car is theirs.
WAS GOING TO:
I was going to eat. Jeg skulle spise. yay SKOOL-leh SPEE-seh
You were going to eat. Du skulle spise. doo SKOOL-leh SPEE-seh
He was going to eat. Han skulle spise. han SKOOL-leh SPEE-seh
She was going to eat. Hun skulle spise. hoon SKOOL-leh SPEE-seh
We were going to eat. Vi skulle spise. vee SKOOL-leh SPEE-seh
You were going to eat. I skulle spise. ee SKOOL-leh SPEE-seh
They were going to eat. De skulle spise. dee SKOOL-leh SPEE-seh
I was about to eat. Jeg var ved at spise.
You were about to leave. Du var ved at gå.
He was about to fall. Han var ved at falde.
She was about to cry. Hun var ved at græde.
We were about to start. Vi var ved at begynde.
They were about to arrive. De var ved at ankomme.
Jeg planlagde at rejse. I was planning to travel. (Subject + planlagde + at + infinitive)
Hun planlagde at købe en bil. She was planning to buy a car.
Jeg havde til hensigt at rejse. I intended to travel. (have til hensigt at + infinitive)
Jeg skulle ikke spise. I wasn't going to eat.
2- NOUNS
ARTICLES:
INDEFINITE ARTICLES (a/an):
en -> (common gender)
et -> (neuter gender)
en bil (a car)
et hus (a house)
DEFINITE ARTICLES (The):
We put the indefinite article to the end of the noun to make it definite:
bilen (The car)
huset (The house)
PLURAL:
1- ADD THE SUFFIX -ER TO THE NOUN (MOST COMMON WITH COMMON GENDER NOUNS [CAN HAPPEN WITH OTHER TYPES OF NOUNS BUT IT IS MOST COMMON FOR THIS TYPE]):
en bil -> biler
en pige -> piger (If a noun already has the letter E at the end, we just add -r without -er)
en kop -> kopper (If a noun has a single consonant after a stressed vowel, we double the consonant)
en sofa -> sofaer
If the noun is definite, we add the suffix -ne after the -er:
bilen -> bilerne
2- ADD THE SUFFIX -E TO THE COMMON GENDER NOUN (COMMON FOR MANY SHORT NOUNS [CAN HAPPEN WITH OTHER TYPES OF NOUNS BUT IT IS MOST COMMON FOR THIS TYPE]):
et hus -> huse
en stol -> stole
en dag -> dage
If the noun is definite, we replace the suffix -e with -ene:
huset -> husene
stolen -> stolene
3- NO CHANGE (COMMON FOR SHORT NEUTER NOUNS [CAN HAPPEN WITH OTHER TYPES OF NOUNS BUT IT IS MOST COMMON FOR THIS TYPE]):
et får -> får
et år -> år
et dyr -> dyr
If the noun is definite, we replace the suffix -e with -ene (just like before):
fåret -> fårene
året -> årene
INDIRECT OBJECT:
Indirect object before direct object — Verb + person + thing — Jeg giver ham en bog.
Using til — Verb + thing + til + person — Jeg giver en bog til ham.
Pronoun indirect object — mig, dig, ham, hende, os, jer, dem — Hun hjælper mig.
Beneficiary — for + person — Jeg laver mad for hende.
GENITIVE:
Singular noun — noun + s — mandens bil
Name — name + s — Peters bog
Ends in s/x/z — noun + ' — Jens' hus
Plural noun — plural + s — elevernes bøger
Definite noun — definite form + s — husets tag
Organization — organization + s — firmaets navn
Time — time + s — dagens nyheder
3- ADJECTIVES
Common indefinite — no ending — en stor bil — a big car
Neuter indefinite — +t — et stort hus — a big house
Plural — +e — store huse — big houses
Definite — +e — den store bil — the big car
Predicate common — no ending — Bilen er stor — The car is big
Predicate neuter — +t — Huset er stort — The house is big
Predicate plural — +e — Bilerne er store — The cars are big
en lukket dør a closed door
en skrevet rapport a written report
et åbnet vindue an opened window
en smilende pige a smiling girl
en læsende pige a reading girl
TO BE VERB:
Infinitive
Danish — at være — to be
Example:
Jeg vil være læge. — I want to be a doctor.
Present Tense (Nutid)
Formation
Subject + er
jeg — er — I am
du — er — you are
han — er — he is
hun — er — she is
det — er — it is
vi — er — we are
I — er — you are
de — er — they are
Examples:
Jeg er glad. — I am happy.
Hun er lærer. — She is a teacher.
Huset er stort. — The house is big.
Past Tense (Datid)
Formation
Subject + var
jeg — var — I was
du — var — you were
han — var — he was
hun — var — she was
det — var — it was
vi — var — we were
I — var — you were
de — var — they were
Examples:
Jeg var træt. — I was tired.
De var hjemme. — They were at home.
Present Perfect (Førnutid)
Formation
Subject + har været
jeg — har været — I have been
du — har været — you have been
han — har været — he has been
hun — har været — she has been
det — har været — it has been
vi — har været — we have been
I — har været — you have been
de — har været — they have been
Examples:
Jeg har været syg. — I have been sick.
Hun har været i Danmark. — She has been in Denmark.
Past Perfect (Førdatid)
Formation
Subject + havde været
jeg — havde været — I had been
du — havde været — you had been
han — havde været — he had been
hun — havde været — she had been
det — havde været — it had been
vi — havde været — we had been
I — havde været — you had been
de — havde været — they had been
Example:
Han havde været syg. — He had been sick.
Future Tense (Fremtid)
Formation
Subject + vil være
jeg — vil være — I will be
du — vil være — you will be
han — vil være — he will be
hun — vil være — she will be
det — vil være — it will be
vi — vil være — we will be
I — vil være — you will be
de — vil være — they will be
Example:
Vi vil være klar. — We will be ready.
Future Perfect (Fremtid Førnutid)
Formation
Subject + vil have været
jeg — vil have været — I will have been
du — vil have været — you will have been
han — vil have været — he will have been
hun — vil have været — she will have been
det — vil have været — it will have been
vi — vil have været — we will have been
I — vil have været — you will have been
de — vil have været — they will have been
Example:
Hun vil have været lærer i ti år. — She will have been a teacher for ten years.
Imperative (Bydeform)
Vær! — Be!
Examples:
Vær stille! — Be quiet!
Vær forsigtig! — Be careful!
Negative Imperative
Vær ikke ...
Examples:
Vær ikke bange. — Don't be afraid.
Vær ikke sent på den. — Don't be late.
Present Participle
værende — being
Examples:
den værende situation — the existing (being) situation
This form is mostly found in formal or written Danish.
Past Participle
været — been
Examples:
Jeg har været hjemme. — I have been home.
Negative Forms
Simply place ikke after the verb.
Jeg er glad. → Jeg er ikke glad. — I am not happy.
Hun var syg. → Hun var ikke syg. — She was not sick.
Vi har været der. → Vi har ikke været der. — We have not been there.
De vil være hjemme. → De vil ikke være hjemme. — They will not be home.
Questions
Invert the verb and subject.
Du er træt. → Er du træt? — Are you tired?
Han var hjemme. → Var han hjemme? — Was he home?
De har været her. → Har de været her? — Have they been here?
Hun vil være klar. → Vil hun være klar? — Will she be ready?
Common Uses of at være
Identity
Han er læge. — He is a doctor.
Nationality
Jeg er dansker. — I am Danish.
Location
Vi er hjemme. — We are at home.
Age
Hun er ti år gammel. — She is ten years old.
Description
Huset er stort. — The house is big.
Existence
Det er sandt. — It is true.
The nominative is used for the person or thing doing the action.
Pattern:
Pronoun + verb
1st singular — jeg — I
2nd singular — du — you
3rd singular masculine — han — he
3rd singular feminine — hun — she
3rd singular neuter — det — it
1st plural — vi — we
2nd plural — I — you
3rd plural — de — they
Examples:
Jeg arbejder. — I work.
Hun læser en bog. — She reads a book.
De kommer i morgen. — They are coming tomorrow.
2. Accusative Case (Objektform)
The accusative is used for:
direct objects (who/what receives the action)
indirect objects (to whom something is given)
Danish uses the same form for both.
Pattern:
Subject + verb + object pronoun
jeg — mig — me
du — dig — you
han — ham — him
hun — hende — her
det — det — it
vi — os — us
I — jer — you
de — dem — them
Examples:
Direct object
Han ser mig. — He sees me.
Jeg kender hende. — I know her.
Vi køber det. — We buy it.
Indirect object
Jeg giver ham en bog. — I give him a book.
Hun sender mig en besked. — She sends me a message.
Læreren forklarer dem reglen. — The teacher explains the rule to them.
3. Genitive Case (Ejefald / Possessive)
The genitive shows ownership or relationship.
Danish uses possessive forms rather than noun endings.
Pattern:
Possessive pronoun + noun
jeg — min / mit / mine — my / mine
du — din / dit / dine — your
han — hans — his
hun — hendes — her
det — dets — its
vi — vores — our
I — jeres — your
de — deres — their
Examples:
Min bog er ny. — My book is new.
Hans bil er gammel. — His car is old.
Deres hus er stort. — Their house is big.
Agreement of Possessive Pronouns
Common gender (en): min bil — my car
Neuter (et): mit hus — my house
Plural: mine bøger — my books
4. Reflexive Case (Tilbagevisende Pronomen)
Reflexive pronouns refer back to the subject.
Pattern:
Subject + verb + reflexive pronoun
jeg — mig selv — myself
du — dig selv — yourself
han/hun/det — sig selv — himself/herself/itself
vi — os selv — ourselves
I — jer selv — yourselves
de — sig selv — themselves
Examples:
Jeg vasker mig selv. — I wash myself.
Du skal passe på dig selv. — You must take care of yourself.
Han ser sig selv i spejlet. — He sees himself in the mirror.
De elsker sig selv. — They love themselves.
DEMONSTRATIVE:
Common (en) — denne — this
Neuter (et) — dette — this
Common (en) — den — that
Neuter (et) — det — that
Plural — de — those
Before a noun (determiner)
Denne bil er min. — This car is mine.
Det hus er stort. — That house is big.
As a pronoun
Jeg vil have denne. — I want this one.
Jeg tager den. — I take that one.
den store bil — that big car
det gamle hus — that old house
de nye bøger — those new books
This is a book. Dette er en bog.
5- VERB TENSES:
Present Jeg spiser I eat / I am eating
Past Jeg spiste I ate
Present Perfect Jeg har spist I have eaten
Past Perfect Jeg havde spist I had eaten
Future Jeg vil spise I will eat
Future Perfect Jeg vil have spist I will have eaten
Past participle varies (-t, -et, irregular) perfect tenses, passive, adjectives Jeg har skrevet. I have written.
6- PASSIVE TENSES:
Present Passive bliver + participle / verb + s
Past Passive blev + participle
Present Perfect Passive er blevet + participle
Past Perfect Passive var blevet + participle
Future Passive vil blive + participle
Future Perfect Passive vil være blevet + participle
7- NEGATION:
Jeg spiser. -> Jeg spiser ikke.
Jeg er glad. -> Jeg er ikke glad.
Jeg har en bil. -> Jeg har ikke en bil.
Jeg har bøger. -> Jeg har ingen bøger.
Jeg har et hus. -> Jeg har intet hus.
Jeg kommer altid. -> Jeg kommer aldrig.
8- QUESTIONS:
YES/NO QUESTIONS:
The verb moves before the subject.
QUESTION WORDS:
Are you working? Arbejder du?
What are you doing? Hvad laver du?
Where do you live? Hvor bor du?
When do you come? Hvornår kommer du?
Why are you here? Hvorfor er du her?
How are you? Hvordan har du det?
Who is he? Hvem er han?
Which book? Hvilken bog?
How many books? Hvor mange bøger?
How much water? Hvor meget vand?
9- ADVERBS:
Danish Transliteration English
godt goht well
dårligt doh-lee badly
hurtigt hoo-dit quickly
langsomt langsomt slowly
let let easily
svært svairt with difficulty
nemt nemt easily
hårdt hohrt hard
blødt blurt softly
højt hoyt loudly / high
lavt lowt quietly / low
stille steel-eh quietly
roligt roh-lee calmly
forsigtigt for-sig-tigt carefully
omhyggeligt om-hy-guh-lee carefully
præcist presist precisely
nøjagtigt noy-agtigt exactly
tydeligt too-deh-lee clearly
klart klart clearly
enkelt eng-kelt simply
simpelt sim-pelt simply
kompliceret kom-plee-seh-ret complicatedly
direkte dee-rek-teh directly
indirekte in-dee-rek-teh indirectly
personligt per-sohn-lee personally
offentligt off-ent-lee publicly
privat pree-vaht privately
hemmeligt hem-meh-lee secretly
åbent oh-bent openly
ærligt air-lee honestly
normalt nor-malt normally
naturligt na-tour-lee naturally
automatisk ow-toh-mah-tisk automatically
frivilligt free-vil-lee voluntarily
tvungent tvong-ent forcibly
bevidst beh-vidst consciously
ubevidst oo-beh-vidst unconsciously
med vilje meh vil-yeh deliberately
med vilje meh vil-yeh intentionally
ved et uheld veh et oo-held accidentally
tilfældigt til-fel-lee accidentally / randomly
med vilje meh vil-yeh on purpose
sammen sam-men together
alene ah-leh-neh alone
hver for sig vair for sigh separately
gensidigt gen-seed-igt mutually
individuelt in-dee-vee-doo-elt individually
2. Time adverbs — tid
Danish Transliteration English
nu noo now
netop neh-top just / precisely
lige lee-eh just
lige nu lee-eh noo right now
i øjeblikket ee uh-yeh-blik-et currently
i dag ee day today
i går ee gohr yesterday
i forgårs ee for-gors the day before yesterday
i morgen ee mor-en tomorrow
i overmorgen ee oh-ver-mor-en the day after tomorrow
før fur before / earlier
tidligere tee-lee-eh-reh earlier
førhen fur-hen formerly
forinden for-in-den beforehand
bagefter bay-eh-fter afterward
efterfølgende ef-ter-ful-en-deh subsequently
derefter dair-ef-ter afterward
siden see-den since / afterward
senere say-neh-reh later
snart snahrt soon
straks strax immediately
om lidt om lit shortly
om lidt om lit in a little while
allerede all-reh-deh already
endnu en-noo still / yet
stadig stay-dee still
fortsat for-tsat still / continuously
netop neh-top just
lige lee-eh just
for nylig for noo-lee recently
nylig noo-lee recently
for længe siden for leng-eh see-den long ago
engang eng-ang once / someday
dengang deng-ang then / at that time
samtidig sam-tee-dee simultaneously
imens ee-mens meanwhile
imidlertid ee-mid-leh-teed meanwhile / however
efterhånden ef-ter-hoh-en gradually / eventually
omsider om-see-der eventually / at last
endelig en-eh-lee finally
til sidst til sist finally
først furst first
først og fremmest furst oh frem-mest first and foremost
oprindeligt oh-prin-deh-lee originally
normalt nor-malt normally
permanent per-mah-nent permanently
midlertidigt mid-ler-tee-dee temporarily
altid all-teed always
aldrig all-dree never
3. Frequency adverbs — hyppighed
Danish Transliteration English
altid all-teed always
næsten altid nes-ten all-teed almost always
ofte off-teh often
tit tit often
meget ofte may-et off-teh very often
sædvanligvis sed-van-lee-vis usually
normalt nor-malt normally
som regel som ray-el usually
typisk too-pisk typically
generelt gay-neh-relt generally
regelmæssigt ray-el-mes-sigt regularly
jævnligt yevn-lee regularly
af og til af oh til occasionally
indimellem in-dee-mel-em sometimes
sommetider som-meh-teh sometimes
nogle gange noh-leh gang-eh sometimes
undertiden on-der-tee-den sometimes
en gang imellem en gang im-el-em occasionally
sjældent shail-ent rarely
sjældent nok shail-ent nok rarely
næsten aldrig nes-ten all-dree almost never
aldrig all-dree never
dagligt day-lee daily
ugentligt oo-ent-lee weekly
månedligt moh-ned-lee monthly
årligt ohr-lee annually
årligt ohr-lee yearly
hver dag vair day every day
gentagne gange gen-tag-neh gang-eh repeatedly
igen ee-en again
igen og igen ee-en oh ee-en again and again
på ny poh noo anew
atter at-ter again
4. Place adverbs — sted
Danish Transliteration English
her hair here
dér dair there
der dair there
herovre hair-oh-vreh over here
derovre dair-oh-vreh over there
herinde hair-in-eh in here
derinde dair-in-eh in there
herude hair-oo-eh out here
derude dair-oo-eh out there
hjemme yem-eh at home
inde in-eh inside
ude oo-eh outside
indenfor in-en-for inside
udenfor oo-en-for outside
ovenpå oh-ven-poh upstairs / on top
nedenunder nay-den-on-der downstairs / underneath
oppe op-eh up / upstairs
nede nay-deh down / downstairs
fremme frem-eh ahead / there
tilbage til-bay-eh back
væk vek away
borte bor-teh away / gone
nær nair near
tæt på tet poh close by
langt væk langt vek far away
omkring om-kring around
rundt omkring roont om-kring all around
overalt oh-ver-alt everywhere
allevegne all-eh-vain-eh everywhere
ingen steder in-gen stay-der nowhere
et sted et stayd somewhere
et andet sted et an-et stayd somewhere else
hvor som helst vor som helst anywhere
ingensteds in-gen-steds nowhere
indendørs in-en-urs indoors
udendørs oo-en-urs outdoors
5. Direction / movement adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
herhen hair-hen to here
derhen dair-hen to there
hen hen away / onward
hjem yem homeward / home
hjemad yem-ad homeward
ind in in / inward
ud oo out / outward
op op up
ned nayd down
frem frem forward
tilbage til-bay-eh back
bort bort away
væk vek away
henad hen-ad toward / along
opad oh-pad upward
nedad nayd-ad downward
fremad frem-ad forward
baglæns bag-lens backward
sidelæns see-deh-lens sideways
rundt roont around
igennem ee-yen-em through
forbi for-bee past
omkring om-kring around
videre vee-deh-reh onward / further
tilbage igen til-bay-eh ee-en back again
6. Degree / intensity adverbs — grad
Danish Transliteration English
meget may-et very / much
virkelig vir-keh-lee really
særdeles sair-day-les particularly / very
yderst oo-er-st extremely
ekstremt eks-tremt extremely
enormt eh-normt enormously
utrolig(t) oo-troh-lee incredibly
utroligt oo-troh-lee incredibly
helt helt completely
fuldstændig fool-sten-dee completely
fuldt ud fooldt oo fully
totalt toh-talt totally
absolut ab-soh-loot absolutely
ganske gan-skeh quite
temmelig tem-eh-lee fairly / rather
ret ret quite / rather
rimelig(t) ree-meh-lee fairly
forholdsvis for-holds-vis relatively
relativt reh-la-teevt relatively
særligt sair-leet particularly
især ee-air especially
ekstremt eks-tremt extremely
enormt eh-normt enormously
næsten nes-ten almost
knap knap barely
knap nok knap nok barely
næppe nep-eh hardly
kun koon only
blot blot merely / only
bare bah-reh just / only
lidt lit a little
en smule en smoo-leh a little
noget noh-et somewhat
en del en dayl considerably / quite a lot
betydeligt beh-too-deh-lee considerably
væsentligt vay-sent-lee substantially
markant mar-kant markedly
næsten nes-ten nearly
omtrent om-trent approximately
cirka sir-kah approximately
7. Quantity adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
meget may-et much / a lot
lidt lit little
nok nok enough
rigeligt ree-leet plenty / sufficiently
tilstrækkeligt til-strek-keh-lee sufficiently
utilstrækkeligt oo-til-strek-keh-lee insufficiently
mere may-reh more
mindre min-dreh less
mest mest most
mindst minst least
så meget soh may-et so much
så lidt soh lit so little
lige så meget lee-eh soh may-et just as much
næsten lige så meget nes-ten lee-eh soh may-et almost as much
meget mere may-et may-reh much more
meget mindre may-et min-dreh much less
for meget for may-et too much
for lidt for lit too little
nok nok enough
næsten nok nes-ten nok almost enough
8. Certainty adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
sikkert sik-kert certainly / surely
bestemt beh-stemt definitely
helt sikkert helt sik-kert absolutely certainly
naturligvis na-toor-lee-vis naturally / of course
selvfølgelig selv-fol-lee of course
naturligt nok na-toor-lee nok naturally enough
utvivlsomt oo-tvivl-somt undoubtedly
uden tvivl oo-en tvivl without doubt
afgjort af-yort definitely
absolut ab-soh-loot absolutely
virkelig vir-keh-lee really
faktisk fak-tisk actually
sandelig san-deh-lee indeed
ganske vist gan-skeh vist admittedly / indeed
9. Probability / uncertainty
Danish Transliteration English
måske moh-skeh maybe
muligvis moo-lee-vis possibly
sandsynligvis san-soon-lee-vis probably
formodentlig for-moht-en-lee presumably
formentlig for-men-lee presumably
antagelig an-ta-geh-lee presumably
formentlig for-men-lee probably
nok nok probably
vist vist apparently / probably
vel vel probably / presumably
angiveligt an-gee-vel-lee allegedly / reportedly
tilsyneladende til-see-neh-lad-en-deh apparently
åbenbart oh-ben-bart apparently
øjensynlig oy-en-see-lee apparently
måske nok moh-skeh nok perhaps
sandsynligvis ikke san-soon-lee-vis ik-eh probably not
10. Interrogative adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
hvordan vor-dan how
hvor vor where / how
hvorhen vor-hen where to
hvorfra vor-frah where from
hvornår vor-nohr when
hvorfor vor-for why
hvorledes vor-lay-des how / in what way
hvor længe vor leng-eh how long
hvor ofte vor off-teh how often
hvor meget vor may-et how much
hvor mange vor mang-eh how many
hvor langt vor langt how far
hvor hurtigt vor hoo-dit how quickly
hvor godt vor goht how well
hvor lidt vor lit how little
hvor meget længere vor may-et leng-eh-reh how much longer
hvortil vor-til to where / for what purpose
hvorved vor-vay by which means
hvormed vor-may with which
hvorom vor-om about which
11. Relative adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
hvor vor where / in which
hvorhen vor-hen where to
hvorfra vor-frah from where
hvornår vor-nohr when
hvorfor vor-for why
hvordan vor-dan how
hvorledes vor-lay-des how
hvortil vor-til to which / where to
hvorved vor-vay whereby
hvormed vor-may with which
hvorom vor-om about which
hvori vor-ee in which
hvorefter vor-ef-ter after which
hvoraf vor-af of which / from which
hvorpå vor-poh on which / whereupon
hvorfor vor-for why
12. Negative adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
ikke ik-eh not
aldrig all-dree never
ingenlunde in-gen-loon-eh by no means
næppe nep-eh hardly
knap knap barely
knap nok knap nok hardly
ingen steder in-gen stay-der nowhere
ingensteds in-gen-steds nowhere
ingen vegne in-gen vay-neh nowhere
aldrig mere all-dree may-reh never again
ikke længere ik-eh leng-eh-reh no longer
slet ikke slet ik-eh not at all
overhovedet ikke oh-ver-hoh-eh-det ik-eh not at all
på ingen måde poh in-gen moh-deh in no way
på ingen måde poh in-gen moh-deh by no means
13. Indefinite adverbs
Danish forms many indefinite adverbs with -som helst, -noget, -steds, etc.
Danish Transliteration English
et sted et stayd somewhere
et eller andet sted et el-er an-et stayd somewhere or other
et eller andet sted hen et el-er an-et stayd hen somewhere
et sted fra et stayd frah from somewhere
et eller andet sted fra et el-er an-et stayd frah from somewhere
nogen steder noh-en stay-der anywhere
hvor som helst vor som helst anywhere
hvor som helst hen vor som helst hen anywhere to
hvorfra som helst vor-frah som helst from anywhere
når som helst nohr som helst anytime
hvordan som helst vor-dan som helst however
hvorledes som helst vor-lay-des som helst however
på en eller anden måde poh en el-er an-en moh-deh somehow
på en eller anden måde poh en el-er an-en moh-deh in some way
ellers el-ers otherwise
andetsteds an-et-steds elsewhere
andre steder an-reh stay-der elsewhere
14. Demonstrative adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
her hair here
dér dair there
der dair there
herhen hair-hen to here
derhen dair-hen to there
herfra hair-frah from here
derfra dair-frah from there
hertil hair-til to here
dertil dair-til to there
herpå hair-poh on this
derpå dair-poh on that / thereafter
herom hair-om about this
derom dair-om about that
herved hair-vay by this
derved dair-vay thereby
hermed hair-may with this
dermed dair-may with that
heraf hair-af from this / of this
deraf dair-af from that / of that
heri hair-ee in this
deri dair-ee in that
herunder hair-on-der under this / including this
derunder dair-on-der under that
15. Focus / emphasis adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
kun koon only
bare bah-reh just / only
blot blot merely / only
netop neh-top precisely / just
lige lee-eh just / exactly
faktisk fak-tisk actually
virkelig vir-keh-lee really
især ee-air especially
særligt sair-leet particularly
specielt speh-see-elt especially
endda en-dah even
endog en-oh even
også oh-soh also
ligeledes lee-eh-lay-des likewise
desuden deh-soo-en furthermore
ydermere oo-er-may-reh furthermore
endvidere en-vee-deh-reh furthermore
endogså en-oh-soh even
overhovedet oh-ver-hoh-eh-det at all
netop neh-top precisely
ligefrem lee-eh-frem downright / even
næsten nes-ten almost
nærmest nair-mest practically / almost
16. Restrictive adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
kun koon only
bare bah-reh only / just
blot blot merely
alene ah-leh-neh alone / only
udelukkende oo-del-ook-en-deh exclusively
kun og alene koon oh ah-leh-neh solely
simpelthen sim-pelt-hen simply
næsten kun nes-ten koon almost only
ikke andet end ik-eh an-et en nothing but
først og fremmest furst oh frem-mest primarily
17. Result / connective adverbs
These connect ideas rather than simply modifying a verb.
Danish Transliteration English
derfor dair-for therefore
således soh-lay-des thus
dermed dair-may thereby / thus
derved dair-vay thereby
altså al-soh therefore / thus / so
følgelig fur-leh-lee consequently
derfor dair-for therefore
herefter hair-ef-ter henceforth / thereafter
deraf dair-af from that / hence
deraf følger dair-af fur-ler it follows from that
følgelig fur-leh-lee consequently
så soh so
ellers el-ers otherwise
i så fald ee soh fald in that case
18. Contrast / concession adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
dog doh however / though
alligevel al-lee-veh nevertheless
alligevel al-lee-veh anyway
imidlertid ee-mid-leh-teed however / meanwhile
derimod dair-ee-mohd on the other hand
tværtimod tvairt-ee-mohd on the contrary
ellers el-ers otherwise
stadig stay-dee still
desuagtet deh-soo-ag-tet nevertheless
ikke desto mindre ik-eh des-toh min-dreh nevertheless
trods alt trods alt after all / nevertheless
19. Addition adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
også oh-soh also
desuden deh-soo-en furthermore
ydermere oo-er-may-reh furthermore
endvidere en-vee-deh-reh furthermore
ligeledes lee-eh-lay-des likewise
tillige til-lee-eh additionally
derudover dair-oo-ver in addition
ovenikøbet oh-ven-ee-kuh-bet moreover / on top of that
endda en-dah even
endog en-oh even
20. Attitude / speaker-evaluation adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
heldigvis hel-dee-vis fortunately
desværre des-vair-eh unfortunately
forhåbentlig for-hohb-ent-lee hopefully
mærkeligt nok mer-keh-lee nok strangely enough
naturligvis na-toor-lee-vis naturally
selvfølgelig selv-fol-lee obviously / of course
ærligt talt air-lee talt honestly
ærligt air-lee honestly
personligt per-sohn-lee personally
efter min mening ef-ter min may-ning in my opinion
faktisk fak-tisk actually
overraskende nok oh-ver-ras-ken-deh nok surprisingly
heldigvis hel-dee-vis fortunately
desværre des-vair-eh unfortunately
naturligvis na-toor-lee-vis naturally
selvfølgelig selv-fol-lee of course
åbenbart oh-ben-bart apparently
21. Approximation adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
cirka sir-kah approximately
omtrent om-trent approximately
omkring om-kring around / approximately
ca. seh-ah approximately
nogenlunde noh-en-loon-eh more or less
næsten nes-ten almost
cirka sådan sir-kah so-dan approximately like that
omtrent sådan om-trent so-dan roughly like that
omkring om-kring about
godt og vel goht oh vel roughly / approximately
mere eller mindre may-reh el-er min-dreh more or less
22. Comparison adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
mere may-reh more
mindre min-dreh less
mest mest most
mindst minst least
lige så lee-eh soh equally / just as
ligeledes lee-eh-lay-des likewise
så ... som soh ... som as ... as
mere ... end may-reh ... en more ... than
mindre ... end min-dreh ... en less ... than
lige så ... som lee-eh soh ... som as ... as
langt langt far / much (comparative intensifier)
meget may-et much
betydeligt beh-too-deh-lee considerably
væsentligt vay-sent-lee substantially
endnu en-noo even / still
stadig stay-dee still
23. Purpose / circumstance adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
med vilje meh vil-yeh deliberately
bevidst beh-vidst consciously
med vilje meh vil-yeh intentionally
tilfældigt til-fel-lee accidentally
ved et uheld veh et oo-held accidentally
derfor dair-for for that reason
dermed dair-may thereby
således soh-lay-des thus
ellers el-ers otherwise
sammen sam-men together
hver for sig vair for sigh separately
24. Sequence / ordering adverbs
Danish Transliteration English
først furst first
derefter dair-ef-ter afterward
derefter dair-ef-ter then
så soh then
bagefter bay-eh-fter afterward
senere say-neh-reh later
endelig en-eh-lee finally
til sidst til sist finally
først og fremmest furst oh frem-mest first and foremost
oprindeligt oh-prin-deh-lee originally
efterfølgende ef-ter-ful-en-deh subsequently
dernæst dair-nest next
samtidig sam-tee-dee simultaneously
imens ee-mens meanwhile
til sidst til sist lastly
25. Manner-question series
These are particularly useful for grammar:
Question Transliteration English
hvordan? vor-dan how?
på hvilken måde? poh vil-ken moh-deh in what way?
hvordan præcist? vor-dan preh-sist how exactly?
hvorledes? vor-lay-des how?
sådan so-dan like that
således soh-lay-des thus
sådan her so-dan hair like this
sådan der so-dan dair like that
på denne måde poh den-eh moh-deh in this way
på den måde poh den moh-deh in that way
26. Place series
Danish has very useful where / where-to / where-from sets:
Function Danish Transliteration English
where? hvor vor where?
here her hair here
there der dair there
somewhere et sted et stayd somewhere
nowhere ingen steder in-gen stay-der nowhere
anywhere hvor som helst vor som helst anywhere
where to? hvorhen vor-hen where to?
to here herhen hair-hen to here
to there derhen dair-hen to there
somewhere to et sted hen et stayd hen somewhere
anywhere to hvor som helst hen vor som helst hen anywhere
where from? hvorfra vor-frah from where?
from here herfra hair-frah from here
from there derfra dair-frah from there
from somewhere et sted fra et stayd frah from somewhere
from anywhere hvorfra som helst vor-frah som helst from anywhere
27. Time-question series
Danish Transliteration English
hvornår? vor-nohr when?
nu noo now
i dag ee day today
i går ee gohr yesterday
i morgen ee mor-en tomorrow
før fur before
derefter dair-ef-ter afterward
senere say-neh-reh later
snart snahrt soon
aldrig all-dree never
altid all-teed always
nogle gange noh-leh gang-eh sometimes
når som helst nohr som helst anytime
engang eng-ang once / someday
dengang deng-ang then / at that time
28. Important adverbial particles
Some very common Danish words are traditionally treated as adverbs, while others are described as particles depending on the grammar.
Danish Transliteration English
ikke ik-eh not
også oh-soh also
kun koon only
bare bah-reh just
blot blot merely
nok nok enough / probably
vel vel probably / surely
jo yoh after all / you know
da dah then / after all
dog doh however / though
så soh so / then
lige lee-eh just
netop neh-top precisely / just
faktisk fak-tisk actually
vist vist apparently / probably
måske moh-skeh maybe
slet slet at all / completely
endda en-dah even
ellers el-ers otherwise
igen ee-en again
One important grammatical note
Danish adverbs are not always formed as a separate special word. Many Danish adjectives have an identical neuter/adverbial form:
hurtig = quick
hurtigt = quickly
god = good
godt = well
rolig = calm
roligt = calmly
10- CONJUNCTIONS:
Danish Transliteration English
og oh and
samt samt and / as well as
samtidig med samt-ee-dee meh at the same time as
også oh-soh also
ej heller eye hel-er neither / nor
hverken ... eller vair-ken ... el-er neither ... nor
både ... og boh-deh ... oh both ... and
såvel ... som soh-vel ... som both ... and / as well as
ikke alene ... men også ik-eh ah-leh-neh ... men oh-soh not only ... but also
ikke blot ... men også ik-eh blot ... men oh-soh not merely ... but also
ikke kun ... men også ik-eh koon ... men oh-soh not only ... but also
Jeg læser og skriver.
yai lay-ser oh skriv-er
= I read and write.
2. Contrast / adversative conjunctions
Danish Transliteration English
men men but
dog doh however / though
derimod dair-ee-mohd on the other hand
hvorimod vor-ee-mohd whereas
ellers el-ers otherwise
alligevel al-lee-veh nevertheless
ikke desto mindre ik-eh des-toh min-dreh nevertheless
tværtimod tvairt-ee-mohd on the contrary
snarere snah-reh-reh rather
men derimod men dair-ee-mohd but on the other hand
The strict coordinating conjunction here is primarily men. Several others are technically conjunctive adverbs rather than conjunctions.
3. Alternative — disjunction
Danish Transliteration English
eller el-er or
eller også el-er oh-soh or else
enten ... eller en-ten ... el-er either ... or
enten ... eller også en-ten ... el-er oh-soh either ... or else
hverken ... eller vair-ken ... el-er neither ... nor
om ... eller om ... el-er whether ... or
enten ... eller ... en-ten ... el-er either ... or
hvad enten ... eller vad en-ten ... el-er whether ... or
Vil du have te eller kaffe?
vil du hav-eh tay el-er kaf-eh?
= Do you want tea or coffee?
4. Explanatory / reformulating conjunctions
Danish Transliteration English
for for for / because
nemlig naym-lee namely / because
altså al-soh thus / that is
det vil sige deh vil see-eh that is to say
det vil sige at deh vil see-eh at that is to say that
eller rettere el-er ret-teh-reh or rather
eller med andre ord el-er meh an-reh ord in other words
Some of these are more properly adverbs or conjunctional expressions.
5. Causal conjunctions — reason
Danish Transliteration English
fordi for-dee because
for for because / for
eftersom ef-ter-som since / because
da dah since / because
idet ee-det as / because
siden see-den since / because
al den stund al den stoond since / because
eftersom at ef-ter-som at because
i og med at ee oh meh at given that / because
på grund af at poh groon af at because / due to the fact that
som følge af at som ful-eh af at as a result of
Example
Jeg blev hjemme, fordi jeg var syg.
yai bleev yem-eh for-dee yai var soo
= I stayed home because I was sick.
6. Result / consecutive conjunctions
Danish Transliteration English
så soh so
så at soh at so that
således at soh-lay-des at so that
så ... at soh ... at so ... that
sådan at soh-dan at such that / so that
så meget at soh may-et at so much that
så mange at soh mang-eh at so many that
så stor at soh stor at so large that
så hurtigt at soh hoo-dit at so quickly that
derfor dair-for therefore
Strictly, derfor is a conjunctive adverb rather than a conjunction.
7. Purpose conjunctions — purpose
Danish Transliteration English
for at for at in order to
så at soh at so that
således at soh-lay-des at so that
med det formål at meh deh for-mohl at with the purpose of
for at kunne for at koo-neh in order to be able to
for ikke at for ik-eh at in order not to
så ... at soh ... at so ... that
Jeg studerer for at lære dansk.
yai stoo-deh-rer for at lair-eh dansk
= I study in order to learn Danish.
8. Conditional conjunctions — condition
Danish Transliteration English
hvis vis if
såfremt soh-fremt provided that / if
såfremt at soh-fremt at provided that
dersom dair-som if
om om if / whether
hvis ikke vis ik-eh if not
medmindre med-min-dreh unless
forudsat at for-oo-sat at provided that
under forudsætning af at on-der for-oo-set-ning af at on condition that
på betingelse af at poh beh-ting-el-seh af at on condition that
i tilfælde af at ee til-fel-eh af at in case
i fald ee fald if / in case
såfremt soh-fremt if / provided that
Correlative condition
Danish English
hvis ... så if ... then
hvis ... ellers if ... otherwise
enten ... eller either ... or
såfremt ... så provided that ... then
9. Concessive conjunctions — concession
Danish Transliteration English
selvom selv-om although / even though
skønt skunt although / though
om end om en although / even if
end om en om even if
uanset om oo-an-set om regardless of whether
uanset at oo-an-set at regardless of the fact that
selv om selv om even though
selv hvis selv vis even if
trods at trods at despite the fact that
til trods for at til trods for at despite the fact that
uagtet at oo-ag-tet at notwithstanding that
Selvom det regner, går jeg ud.
selv-om deh rye-ner, gohr yai oo
= Although it is raining, I am going out.
10. Temporal conjunctions — time
Danish Transliteration English
da dah when / when then
når nohr when
da dah when
mens mens while
medens meh-dens while
imens ee-mens while / meanwhile
før fur before
førend fur-ent before
inden in-den before
indtil in-til until
til til until
efter at ef-ter at after
eftersom ef-ter-som since
siden see-den since
siden at see-den at since
så snart soh snart as soon as
så snart som soh snart som as soon as
lige så snart lee-eh soh snart as soon as
så længe soh leng-eh as long as / while
så længe som soh leng-eh som as long as
hver gang vair gang every time
hver gang som vair gang som every time
hver gang ... vair gang whenever
når som helst nohr som helst whenever / anytime
lige siden lee-eh see-den ever since
indtil at in-til at until
før at fur at before
efter som ef-ter som according as / since
Important distinction
Når is normally used for repeated/general future situations:
Når jeg kommer hjem, spiser jeg.
When I come home, I eat.
Da is normally used for a specific event in the past:
Da jeg kom hjem, spiste jeg.
When I came home, I ate.
11. Comparative conjunctions
Danish Transliteration English
som som as
end en than
ligesom lee-eh-som just as / like
sådan som soh-dan som as / such as
som om som om as if
som hvis som vis as if
ligesom hvis lee-eh-som vis just as if
end hvis en vis than if
jo ... desto yoh ... des-toh the ... the
jo ... des yoh ... des the ... the
jo mere ... desto mere yoh may-reh ... des-toh may-reh the more ... the more
jo mindre ... desto mindre yoh min-dreh ... des-toh min-dreh the less ... the less
jo større ... desto større yoh stor-eh ... des-toh stor-eh the larger ... the larger
12. Manner conjunctions
Danish Transliteration English
som som as
sådan som soh-dan som as
som om som om as if
som hvis som vis as if
ligesom lee-eh-som just as
således som soh-lay-des som in the way that
på samme måde som poh sam-eh moh-deh som in the same way as
eftersom ef-ter-som according as / since
alt efter som alt ef-ter som according as
alt eftersom alt ef-ter-som depending on / according as
13. Content / complement conjunctions
These introduce clauses functioning as the content of a verb, adjective, noun, etc.
Danish Transliteration English
at at that
om om whether / if
hvorvidt vor-vit whether
hvad vad what
hvem vem who
hvor vor where
hvornår vor-nohr when
hvordan vor-dan how
hvorfor vor-for why
hvorhen vor-hen where to
hvorfra vor-frah where from
Jeg ved, at han kommer.
yai vay, at han kom-er
= I know that he is coming.
14. Yes/no subordinate-question conjunctions
Danish Transliteration English
om om whether / if
hvorvidt vor-vit whether
hvorvidt ... eller ej vor-vit ... el-er eye whether ... or not
om ... eller om ... el-er whether ... or
Jeg ved ikke, om han kommer.
yai vay ik-eh, om han kom-er
= I don't know whether he is coming.
15. Negative conjunctions
Danish Transliteration English
hverken ... eller vair-ken ... el-er neither ... nor
ikke ... men ik-eh ... men not ... but
ikke ... eller ik-eh ... el-er not ... or
hverken ... eller ej vair-ken ... el-er eye neither ... nor
uden at oo-en at without
uden at ... oo-en at without ...
uden at oo-en at without doing
førend fur-ent before
medmindre med-min-dreh unless
16. “No matter” / free-choice conjunctional structures
Danish Transliteration English
uanset hvem oo-an-set vem no matter who
uanset hvad oo-an-set vad no matter what
uanset hvor oo-an-set vor no matter where
uanset hvornår oo-an-set vor-nohr no matter when
uanset hvordan oo-an-set vor-dan no matter how
uanset hvilken oo-an-set vil-ken no matter which
hvem end vem en whoever
hvad end vad en whatever
hvor end vor en wherever
hvornår end vor-nohr en whenever
hvordan end vor-dan en however
hvilken ... end vil-ken ... en whichever
17. Correlative conjunctions
These are extremely important in Danish.
Danish Transliteration English
både ... og boh-deh ... oh both ... and
enten ... eller en-ten ... el-er either ... or
hverken ... eller vair-ken ... el-er neither ... nor
ikke ... men ik-eh ... men not ... but
ikke blot ... men også ik-eh blot ... men oh-soh not only ... but also
ikke kun ... men også ik-eh koon ... men oh-soh not only ... but also
ikke alene ... men også ik-eh ah-leh-neh ... men oh-soh not only ... but also
såvel ... som soh-vel ... som both ... and
jo ... desto yoh ... des-toh the ... the
jo ... des yoh ... des the ... the
dels ... dels dels ... dels partly ... partly
snart ... snart snart ... snart sometimes ... sometimes
enten ... eller også en-ten ... el-er oh-soh either ... or else
hvad enten ... eller vad en-ten ... el-er whether ... or
om ... eller om ... el-er whether ... or
18. Multi-word conjunctions
These are especially useful because Danish frequently uses conjunctional expressions.
Danish English
for at in order to
så at so that
således at so that
med det formål at with the purpose that
på grund af at because
i og med at because / given that
som følge af at as a result of
forudsat at provided that
på betingelse af at on condition that
under forudsætning af at on condition that
i tilfælde af at in case
selv om although / even though
selv hvis even if
uanset om regardless of whether
uanset at regardless of the fact that
til trods for at despite the fact that
om end although
så snart som as soon as
så længe som as long as
lige siden ever since
før end before
efter at after
uden at without
i stedet for at instead of
på samme måde som in the same way as
alt efter som according as
alt eftersom depending on / according as
det vil sige at that is to say that
ikke desto mindre nevertheless
ikke kun ... men også not only ... but also
19. Core strict Danish conjunctions
If we remove adverbs, particles, pronouns, and broader conjunctional expressions, the core conjunction inventory is much smaller:
Coordinating
Danish English
og and
eller or
men but
for for / because
samt and / as well as
thi for / because
hverken ... eller neither ... nor
både ... og both ... and
Subordinating
Danish English
at that
om whether / if
hvis if
dersom if
såfremt if / provided that
medmindre unless
fordi because
eftersom because / since
da since / because / when
når when
mens while
før before
inden before
indtil until
efter after
siden since
selvom although
skønt although
end than
som as
idet as / while / because
uden at without
førend before
11- PREPOSITIONS:
# Danish English meaning Typical use / structure Example English
1 af of; by; from origin, agent, material Bogen er skrevet af ham. The book is written by him.
2 ad along; via; by route/path Vi går ad vejen. We walk along the road.
3 bag behind location/direction Bilen står bag huset. The car is behind the house.
4 blandt among position/group Han står blandt vennerne. He stands among the friends.
5 efter after; for; according to time, search, accordance Efter arbejdet går jeg hjem. After work I go home.
6 for for; before; too purpose, recipient, time, excess Denne gave er for dig. This gift is for you.
7 foran in front of position/direction Han står foran huset. He stands in front of the house.
8 fra from origin/source Jeg kommer fra Danmark. I come from Denmark.
9 gennem through movement Vi går gennem skoven. We walk through the forest.
10 hos at; with; among person/place associated with Jeg er hos lægen. I am at the doctor’s.
11 i in; into location/direction Hun bor i København. She lives in Copenhagen.
12 imellem between; among position Huset ligger imellem to bygninger. The house is between two buildings.
13 inden before; within time Kom inden klokken fem. Come before five o'clock.
14 indtil until; up to endpoint/time Jeg arbejder indtil klokken seks. I work until six.
15 langs along route/position Vi går langs stranden. We walk along the beach.
16 med with; by accompaniment, instrument Jeg kommer med min ven. I am coming with my friend.
17 mod toward; against direction/opposition Han går mod døren. He walks toward the door.
18 om about; around; in topic, time, approximate Vi taler om filmen. We talk about the film.
19 omkring around; about location/approximation Der er omkring ti personer. There are about ten people.
20 over over; above; across position/movement Lampen hænger over bordet. The lamp hangs over the table.
21 på on; at; onto surface/place/direction Bogen ligger på bordet. The book is on the table.
22 siden since time Jeg har boet her siden 2020. I have lived here since 2020.
23 som as; like role/comparison Han arbejder som lærer. He works as a teacher.
24 til to; for; until destination/recipient/time Jeg går til skolen. I go to school.
25 trods despite concession Trods regnen gik vi ud. Despite the rain, we went out.
26 under under; during position/time Katten ligger under bordet. The cat is under the table.
27 uden without absence/exclusion Kaffe uden sukker. Coffee without sugar.
28 ved by; at; near location, means, association Han sidder ved bordet. He sits at the table.
29 via via; through route/means Vi rejser via Berlin. We travel via Berlin.
30 vedrørende concerning; regarding topic En sag vedrørende skatten. A matter concerning the tax.
2. Spatial / positional prepositions
Danish English Example Translation
bag behind Hunden er bag huset. The dog is behind the house.
foran in front of Bilen står foran huset. The car is in front of the house.
over above; over Lampen er over bordet. The lamp is above the table.
under under Katten er under stolen. The cat is under the chair.
mellem between Han står mellem to mænd. He stands between two men.
imellem between; among Hun sidder imellem børnene. She sits among/between the children.
ved siden af beside; next to Jeg sidder ved siden af ham. I sit next to him.
nær near Vi bor nær centrum. We live near the center.
hos at; with Hun er hos sin ven. She is at her friend's place.
omkring around De går omkring huset. They walk around the house.
rundt om around Vi går rundt om søen. We walk around the lake.
langs along De går langs floden. They walk along the river.
gennem through Vi går gennem tunnelen. We walk through the tunnel.
på tværs af across Vi går på tværs af vejen. We walk across the road.
inden for within; inside Det ligger inden for området. It is within the area.
uden for outside Han står uden for huset. He is standing outside the house.
midt i in the middle of Han står midt i rummet. He stands in the middle of the room.
øverst i at the top of Hun bor øverst i bygningen. She lives at the top of the building.
nederst i at the bottom of Navnet står nederst i brevet. The name is at the bottom of the letter.
3. Direction / movement
Danish English Example Translation
til to Jeg går til skolen. I go to school.
fra from Han kommer fra byen. He comes from the city.
mod toward Hun går mod døren. She walks toward the door.
ind i into Han går ind i huset. He goes into the house.
ud af out of Hun går ud af huset. She goes out of the house.
op på onto Katten hopper op på bordet. The cat jumps onto the table.
ned fra down from Han går ned fra bakken. He walks down from the hill.
over across/over Vi går over broen. We walk across the bridge.
under under Han går under broen. He walks under the bridge.
gennem through Vi kører gennem byen. We drive through the city.
forbi past Han går forbi huset. He walks past the house.
rundt om around Vi går rundt om bygningen. We walk around the building.
hen til over to; to Hun går hen til døren. She walks over to the door.
bort fra away from Han går bort fra bilen. He walks away from the car.
4. Time prepositions
Danish English Example Translation
før before Før frokosten arbejder jeg. I work before lunch.
efter after Efter arbejdet går jeg hjem. After work I go home.
inden before; within Kom inden fredag. Come before Friday.
indtil until Jeg bliver indtil mandag. I will stay until Monday.
siden since Jeg har boet her siden 2020. I have lived here since 2020.
under during Under mødet talte han meget. During the meeting he talked a lot.
i in; for Jeg rejser i juli. I am traveling in July.
om in; after Vi ses om en uge. See you in a week.
på on Vi mødes på mandag. We meet on Monday.
til until/for Til sommer rejser vi. In/for the summer we travel.
fra from Kurset varer fra mandag. The course lasts from Monday.
efter after Efter klokken otte er jeg hjemme. After eight o'clock I am home.
gennem throughout Gennem årene ændrede det sig. Throughout the years it changed.
5. Cause / reason
Danish English Example Translation
på grund af because of; due to Kampen blev aflyst på grund af regnen. The game was cancelled because of the rain.
på grund af due to Han blev hjemme på grund af sygdom. He stayed home because of illness.
takket være thanks to Vi vandt takket være hendes hjælp. We won thanks to her help.
på grund af because of Det skete på grund af en fejl. It happened because of a mistake.
som følge af as a result of Vejen blev lukket som følge af sneen. The road was closed as a result of the snow.
grundet due to Flyet er forsinket grundet vejret. The plane is delayed due to the weather.
på grundlag af on the basis of Beslutningen blev truffet på grundlag af dataene. The decision was made on the basis of the data.
6. Purpose / beneficiary
Danish English Example Translation
for for Det er for børn. It is for children.
til for; for the purpose of Det er til børnene. It is for the children.
med henblik på with a view to Det blev gjort med henblik på forbedring. It was done with a view to improvement.
med det formål at with the purpose of Han arbejder med det formål at hjælpe andre. He works with the purpose of helping others.
til brug for for use by Dette er til brug for eleverne. This is for use by the students.
til fordel for for the benefit of Pengene bruges til fordel for børnene. The money is used for the benefit of the children.
7. Topic / reference
Danish English Example Translation
om about Vi taler om politik. We talk about politics.
vedrørende regarding Et spørgsmål vedrørende sagen. A question regarding the matter.
angående concerning Jeg skriver angående mødet. I am writing concerning the meeting.
med hensyn til with regard to Med hensyn til planen er jeg enig. With regard to the plan, I agree.
hvad angår as regards Hvad angår prisen, er den høj. As regards the price, it is high.
i forbindelse med in connection with I forbindelse med mødet talte vi. In connection with the meeting, we talked.
i forhold til in relation to; compared with I forhold til sidste år er det bedre. Compared with last year, it is better.
8. Means / instrument / method
Danish English Example Translation
med with; by Jeg skriver med en pen. I write with a pen.
via via Vi sender det via e-mail. We send it via email.
gennem through Vi lærte det gennem erfaring. We learned it through experience.
ved hjælp af by means of Han løste problemet ved hjælp af en computer. He solved the problem by means of a computer.
med hjælp fra with help from Hun gjorde det med hjælp fra sin ven. She did it with help from her friend.
ved by; through Han tjener penge ved at arbejde. He earns money by working.
9. Accompaniment / association
Danish English Example Translation
med with Jeg går med min bror. I go with my brother.
sammen med together with Hun arbejder sammen med ham. She works together with him.
hos at/with Jeg bor hos min ven. I stay with my friend.
blandt among Han arbejder blandt unge. He works among young people.
10. Comparison / relation
Danish English Example Translation
som as; like Han arbejder som lærer. He works as a teacher.
end than Hun er højere end mig. She is taller than me.
i forhold til compared with; relative to Det er dyrt i forhold til kvaliteten. It is expensive compared with the quality.
sammenlignet med compared with Sammenlignet med sidste år er det bedre. Compared with last year, it is better.
i sammenligning med in comparison with Det er billigt i sammenligning med de andre. It is cheap in comparison with the others.
over for toward; gegenüber; in relation to Han var venlig over for mig. He was kind toward me.
11. Opposition / contrast
Danish English Example Translation
mod against De kæmper mod sygdommen. They fight against the disease.
over for toward; vis-à-vis Han var høflig over for hende. He was polite toward her.
trods despite Trods problemerne fortsatte vi. Despite the problems, we continued.
på trods af despite På trods af regnen gik vi ud. Despite the rain, we went out.
i modsætning til unlike; in contrast to I modsætning til ham arbejder jeg hjemme. Unlike him, I work from home.
i stedet for instead of Jeg tager te i stedet for kaffe. I take tea instead of coffee.
12. Exclusion / absence
Danish English Example Translation
uden without Jeg drikker kaffe uden sukker. I drink coffee without sugar.
undtagen except Alle kom undtagen Peter. Everyone came except Peter.
bortset fra apart from; except for Bortset fra Peter kom alle. Apart from Peter, everyone came.
foruden besides; in addition to Foruden dansk taler han engelsk. Besides Danish, he speaks English.
eksklusive excluding Prisen er 100 kr. eksklusive skat. The price is 100 kr. excluding tax.
med undtagelse af with the exception of Alle kom med undtagelse af ham. Everyone came with the exception of him.
13. Possession / origin / authorship
Danish English Example Translation
af of; by Bogen er skrevet af H.C. Andersen. The book was written by H.C. Andersen.
fra from En gave fra min mor. A gift from my mother.
hos at/with Jeg købte den hos en ven. I bought it from a friend.
til belonging to; for Det er bilen til min bror. It is my brother's car.
14. Position relative to something
These are particularly important because Danish frequently combines them with side, grund, del, top, bund, midte, etc.
Danish English
ved siden af beside / next to
i nærheden af near
i nærheden af in the vicinity of
midt i in the middle of
øverst i at the top of
nederst i at the bottom of
foran in front of
bag behind
på toppen af on top of
under under
over above
mellem between
blandt among
inden for within
uden for outside
i midten af in the middle of
på siden af on the side of
langs med along
på tværs af across
rundt om around
15. Important multi-word Danish prepositions
These function as prepositional expressions:
Danish English
på grund af because of / due to
på trods af despite
i stedet for instead of
i forhold til in relation to / compared with
i modsætning til in contrast to / unlike
i forbindelse med in connection with
med hensyn til with regard to
med henblik på with a view to
ved hjælp af by means of
på vegne af on behalf of
på grundlag af on the basis of
som følge af as a result of
takket være thanks to
i løbet af during / over the course of
i løbet af within / during
i nærheden af near
ved siden af next to
foran for in front of
bag ved behind
op til up to
ned til down to
hen til over to / to
bort fra away from
ud over beyond / in addition to
ud fra from / based on
ind i into
ud af out of
op på onto
ned fra down from
over for toward / opposite to
midt i in the middle of
øverst i at the top of
nederst i at the bottom of
på tværs af across
langs med along
rundt om around
bortset fra apart from / except
foruden besides
med undtagelse af with the exception of
til fordel for for the benefit of
til skade for to the detriment of
i kraft af by virtue of
i mangel af for lack of
i stedet for instead of
i form af in the form of
i tilfælde af in case of
i anledning af on the occasion of / because of
i lyset af in light of
i henhold til according to / pursuant to
i overensstemmelse med in accordance with
i strid med contrary to / in violation of
i samarbejde med in cooperation with
i samråd med in consultation with
i selskab med in the company of
i gang med engaged in / in the process of
i kraft af by virtue of
på bekostning af at the expense of
på vegne af on behalf of
på bekostning af at the expense of
16. Very important Danish preposition pairs
i vs ind i
Formation Meaning Example
i + place in/at, location Han er i huset.
ind i + place into, movement Han går ind i huset.
Han er i huset.
Han er i huset.
= He is in the house.
Han går ind i huset.
Han går ind i huset.
= He goes into the house.
på vs op på
Formation Meaning Example
på + place on, location Bogen ligger på bordet.
op på + place onto, movement Katten hopper op på bordet.
under vs ned under
Formation Meaning Example
under under, location Katten er under bordet.
ned under down under, movement Katten løber ned under bordet.
fra vs ud af
Formation Meaning Example
fra from Jeg kommer fra Danmark.
ud af out of Han går ud af huset.
til vs hen til
Formation Meaning Example
til to Jeg går til skolen.
hen til over to / toward Jeg går hen til skolen.
12- DETERMINERS
Type Danish Formation Example English
Indefinite common gender en en + noun en bog a book
Indefinite neuter et et + noun et hus a house
Definite common gender -en noun + en bogen the book
Definite neuter -et noun + et huset the house
Definite plural -ene / -ne plural noun + definite suffix bøgerne the books
Pre-adjective definite den den + adjective + noun den store bog the big book
Pre-adjective definite neuter det det + adjective + noun det store hus the big house
Pre-adjective definite plural de de + adjective + plural noun de store bøger the big books
Examples
en bog
en boh
= a book
et hus
et hoos
= a house
bogen
boh-en
= the book
den store bog
den STOH-re boh
= the big book
2. Demonstrative determiners
Danish English Example Translation
den that / the den bog that book
det that / the det hus that house
de those / the de bøger those books
den her this den her bog this book
det her this det her hus this house
de her these de her bøger these books
denne this denne bog this book
dette this dette hus this house
disse these disse bøger these books
den der that den der bog that book
det der that det der hus that house
de der those de der bøger those books
hin that / yonder hin dag that day
hint that / yonder hint sted that place
hine those / yonder hine mennesker those people
denne / dette / disse are especially useful as the more formal/literary “this/these” series.
3. Possessive determiners
These indicate possession before a noun.
Danish English Example Translation
min my min bog my book
mit my mit hus my house
mine my mine bøger my books
din your din bog your book
dit your dit hus your house
dine your dine bøger your books
hans his hans bog his book
hendes her hendes bog her book
dens its dens farve its color
dets its dets navn its name
vores our vores hus our house
vor our vor tid our time
jeres your jeres bil your car
deres their deres børn their children
sin his/her/one's own sin bog his/her own book
sit his/her/one's own sit hus his/her own house
sine his/her/one's own sine bøger his/her own books
Agreement
Noun Possessive Example
common gender singular min/din/sin min bog
neuter singular mit/dit/sit mit hus
plural mine/dine/sine mine bøger
The other possessives (hans, hendes, vores, jeres, deres) do not change according to the noun.
4. Quantifying determiners
Quantity
Danish English Example
meget much meget vand
lidt little lidt vand
mange many mange bøger
få few få bøger
nok enough nok tid
rigelig ample rigelig tid
rigeligt plenty of rigeligt vand
tilstrækkelig sufficient tilstrækkelig tid
tilstrækkeligt sufficient tilstrækkeligt vand
mere more mere tid
mindre less mindre tid
flere more / several flere bøger
færre fewer færre bøger
mest most mest tid
mindst least mindst tid
alle all alle bøger
alt all / everything alt vand
al all al tiden
begge both begge bøger
ingen no / none ingen bøger
intet no / nothing intet vand
ingen af none of ingen af bøgerne
hver each / every hver dag
hvert each / every hvert hus
hver eneste every single hver eneste dag
enhver any / every enhver person
ethvert any / every ethvert menneske
en hel a whole en hel dag
et helt a whole et helt år
hele whole / entire hele dagen
samtlige all; every single one samtlige elever
5. Indefinite determiners
These indicate an unspecified person, thing, amount, or choice.
Danish English Example Translation
en eller anden some / a certain en eller anden person some person
et eller andet some / something et eller andet sted some place
nogen some / any nogen mennesker some people
noget some / any noget vand some water
nogle some nogle bøger some books
enhver any / every enhver person any/every person
ethvert any / every ethvert valg any/every choice
hvilken som helst any hvilken som helst bog any book
hvilket som helst any hvilket som helst hus any house
hvilke som helst any hvilke som helst bøger any books
en bestemt a certain / particular en bestemt person a certain person
et bestemt a certain / particular et bestemt sted a certain place
bestemte certain / particular bestemte personer certain people
diverse various diverse problemer various problems
forskellige different / various forskellige mennesker different people
adskillige several adskillige personer several people
talrige numerous talrige eksempler numerous examples
utallige countless utallige muligheder countless possibilities
6. Negative determiners
Danish English Example Translation
ingen no / no one ingen bog no book
intet no / not any intet problem no problem
ingen no ingen mennesker no people
ingen af none of ingen af eleverne none of the students
hverken ... eller neither ... nor hverken denne eller den bog neither this nor that book
Gender/number
Noun Determiner Example
common singular ingen ingen bog
neuter singular intet intet hus
plural ingen ingen bøger
7. Distributive determiners
Danish English Example Translation
hver each/every hver dag every day
hvert each/every hvert år every year
hver eneste every single hver eneste dag every single day
enhver every/any enhver person every/any person
ethvert every/any ethvert menneske every/any person
samtlige all/every single one samtlige elever all the students
begge both begge børn both children
hver af each of hver af eleverne each of the students
begge ... both begge mine brødre both my brothers
8. Interrogative determiners
These occur directly before nouns in questions.
Danish English Example Translation
hvilken which hvilken bog? which book?
hvilket which hvilket hus? which house?
hvilke which hvilke bøger? which books?
hvad for en what kind of / which hvad for en bog? what kind of book?
hvad for et what kind of / which hvad for et hus? what kind of house?
hvad for nogle what kind of / which hvad for nogle bøger? what kind of books?
hvor mange how many hvor mange bøger? how many books?
hvor meget how much hvor meget vand? how much water?
Agreement
Hvilken bog?
Which book?
Hvilket hus?
Which house?
Hvilke bøger?
Which books?
9. Relative / indefinite determiner-like forms
Danish English Example
hvilken which den bog, hvilken ...
hvilket which det hus, hvilket ...
hvilke which de bøger, hvilke ...
hvis whose en mand, hvis bil ...
hvad for en what kind of one hvad for en bog
hvad for et what kind of one hvad for et hus
hvad for nogle what kind of ones hvad for nogle bøger
Note: hvilken/hvilket/hvilke can function as interrogative determiners, while their relative uses are more formal/literary in modern Danish.
10. Numerical determiners
Cardinal numbers can function as determiners before nouns.
Danish English Example
en one en bog
to two to bøger
tre three tre bøger
fire four fire bøger
fem five fem bøger
seks six seks bøger
syv seven syv bøger
otte eight otte bøger
ni nine ni bøger
ti ten ti bøger
hundrede hundred hundrede bøger
tusind thousand tusind bøger
million million en million mennesker
Numbers can combine with other determiners:
de to bøger
= the two books
mine tre bøger
= my three books
alle fem bøger
= all five books
11. Ordinal determiners
Ordinal numbers can also determine nouns.
Danish English Example
første first den første dag
anden second den anden dag
tredje third den tredje dag
fjerde fourth den fjerde dag
femte fifth den femte dag
sjette sixth den sjette dag
syvende seventh den syvende dag
ottende eighth den ottende dag
niende ninth den niende dag
tiende tenth den tiende dag
sidste last den sidste dag
næste next den næste dag
forrige previous den forrige dag
12. Totality / completeness determiners
Danish English Example
al all al tiden
alt all alt arbejdet
alle all alle eleverne
hele whole/entire hele dagen
samtlige all samtlige elever
begge both begge bøger
hver every hver dag
enhver every/any enhver mulighed
ethvert every/any ethvert valg
13. Partitive / “of” constructions
Danish frequently uses af after quantity determiners.
Formation Example English
alle + af + noun alle af eleverne all of the students
begge + af + noun begge af dem both of them
ingen + af + noun ingen af eleverne none of the students
nogle + af + noun nogle af eleverne some of the students
mange + af + noun mange af eleverne many of the students
få + af + noun få af eleverne few of the students
flere + af + noun flere af eleverne several/more of the students
hver + af + noun hver af eleverne each of the students
en af + plural en af eleverne one of the students
14. Emphatic / special determiners
Danish English Example
selve the very / the actual selve huset
egen own min egen bil
eget own mit eget hus
egne own mine egne bøger
samme same den samme bog
anden other / another en anden bog
andet other / another et andet hus
andre other / others andre mennesker
næste next næste uge
sidste last sidste år
forrige previous forrige uge
førstnævnte former / first-mentioned førstnævnte person
sidstnævnte latter / last-mentioned sidstnævnte person
følgende following følgende dag
nævnte mentioned den nævnte person
15. “Other” determiners
This is an important Danish set:
Danish English Example
anden another/other en anden bog
andet another/other et andet hus
andre other andre bøger
samme same den samme bog
samme same det samme hus
samme same de samme bøger
egen own min egen bil
eget own mit eget hus
egne own mine egne børn
16. Determiner agreement system
A major part of Danish determiners is common vs neuter vs plural.
Function Common gender Neuter Plural
a/an en et —
this denne dette disse
my min mit mine
your din dit dine
own sin sit sine
which hvilken hvilket hvilke
every hver hvert —
any/every enhver ethvert enhver/alle
no ingen intet ingen
another anden andet andre
much/many — meget mange
little/few — lidt få
17. Definite noun vs definite determiner
Danish is especially important here because the definite article is normally a suffix.
Indefinite
en bog
a book
et hus
a house
Definite
bogen
the book
huset
the house
bøgerne
the books
But when an adjective comes before the noun, Danish normally uses a separate preposed definite article:
den store bog
the big book
det store hus
the big house
de store bøger
the big books
So:
en bog → bogen
en stor bog → den store bog
18. Possessive + definite noun
Danish generally does not use the definite suffix after a possessive determiner:
min bog
= my book
mit hus
= my house
mine bøger
= my books
Not normally:
❌ min bogen
But a possessive can occur with the definite article in certain emphatic constructions:
den store bog
= the big book
min store bog
= my big book
13- IF CONDITIONAL
0 General truth Hvis + present, present If water freezes, it becomes ice.
1 Real future Hvis + present, present/future If it rains, I will stay home.
2 Unreal present/future Hvis + past, ville + infinitive If I had money, I would travel.
3 Unreal past Hvis + past perfect, ville have/være + participle If I had studied, I would have passed.
Would + Verb:
Conditional Present ville + infinitive
Conditional Question Present: Ville + subject + infinitive?
Conditional Perfect: ville have + past participle (or ville være + past participle with verbs that take være in the perfect, such as komme, gå, blive)
Conditional Question Perfect: Ville + subject + have/være + past participle?
Conditional Present Negative: ville + ikke + infinitive
Conditional Perfect Negative: ville + ikke + have + past participle
Conditional Perfect (motion/change verbs): ville + ikke + være + past participle
Conditional Question Negative: Ville + subject + ikke + infinitive?
Conditional Perfect Question Negative: Ville + subject + ikke + have/være + past participle?
Present Passive ville + blive + past participle
Perfect Passive ville + være blevet + past participle
Present Passive Question Ville + subject + blive + past participle?
Perfect Passive Question Ville + subject + være blevet + past participle?
Present Passive Negative ville + ikke + blive + past participle
Perfect Passive Negative ville + ikke + være blevet + past participle
Present Passive Negative Question Ville + subject + ikke + blive + past participle?
Perfect Passive Negative Question Ville + subject + ikke + være blevet + past participle?
hvis if General condition
om if / whether Indirect questions
medmindre unless Negative condition
kun hvis only if Restrictive condition
selv hvis even if Concession
selvom although / even though Contrast
som om as if Comparison
hvad hvis what if Hypothetical question
ellers otherwise Alternative result
i tilfælde af in case of Precaution
forudsat at provided that Formal condition
så længe (som) as long as Duration/condition
under forudsætning af at on condition that Very formal
givet at given that Assuming that
dersom if (formal/literary) Formal alternative to hvis
når when Future events, repeated events, general truths
da when One specific event in the past
så snart as soon as Immediate future/past sequence
idet as/when Formal, simultaneous actions
mens while/when Two actions happening at the same time
i det øjeblik (at) the moment (that) / when Exact moment
hver gang whenever / every time Repeated events
før before Before something happens
inden (at) before Before (often with a clause)
efter (at) after After something happens
indtil until Up to a point in time
14- COMPARATIVE AND SUPERLATIVE
ADJECTIVES:
Degree Formation Example Translation
Positive adjective stor big
Comparative adjective + -ere større bigger
Superlative adjective + -est størst biggest
Long adjective comparative mere + adjective mere interessant more interesting
Long adjective superlative mest + adjective mest interessant most interesting
ADVERBS:
Degree Example Translation
Positive hurtigt quickly
Comparative hurtigere more quickly / faster
Superlative hurtigst most quickly / fastest
COUNTABLE NOUNS:
Degree Danish Translation
More flere bøger more books
Fewer færre bøger fewer books
Most flest bøger most books
Fewest færrest bøger fewest books
UNCOUNTABLE NOUNS:
Degree Danish Translation
More mere vand more water
Less mindre vand less water
Most mest vand most water
Least mindst vand least water
VERBS:
Degree Danish Translation
More arbejder mere works more
Less arbejder mindre works less
Most arbejder mest works the most
Least arbejder mindst works the least
Han er højere end mig. He is taller than me.
Dette hus er større end det andet. This house is bigger than the other one.
Jeg har flere bøger. I have more books.
Hun har flest venner. She has the most friends.
15- RELATIVE CLAUSES
som who, whom, which, that General relative pronoun
der who, that Subject of the relative clause
hvis whose Possession
hvor where Place
hvad what No antecedent ("that which")
da when Specific past time (with time nouns)
hvorpå on which Formal
hvori in which Formal
hvormed with which Formal
The book that I bought Bogen som jeg købte
The man whom I saw Manden som jeg så
The girl who lives here Pigen der bor her
16- REPORTED SPEECH AND DIRECT SPEECH
Direct Speech: Person + reporting verb + ":" or "," + quotation
Reported Speech:
Statement at + clause Han sagde, at han var syg. He said that he was sick.
Yes/No Question om + clause Hun spurgte, om jeg kom. She asked whether (if) I was coming.
Wh-Question question word + clause Han spurgte, hvor jeg boede. He asked where I lived.
Command bede/befale + om at + infinitive Han bad mig om at vente. He told/asked me to wait.
Request bede + om at + infinitive Hun bad mig om at hjælpe. She asked me to help.
Suggestion foreslå + at + infinitive / at + clause Hun foreslog at gå. She suggested going.
Promise love + at + clause Han lovede, at han ville komme. He promised that he would come.
Warning advare + om at + infinitive Hun advarede mig om at passe på. She warned me to be careful.
17- INFINITIVES AND VERBAL NOUNS
to eat at spise
eating (subject) at spise / spisning (less common, noun if appropriate)
eating (object) at spise
by eating ved at spise
without eating uden at spise
after eating efter at have spist
before eating før jeg spiser / inden jeg spiser
to be invited at blive inviteret
to have eaten at have spist
to have been invited at være blevet inviteret
be happy seeing... være + adjective + for at + infinitive Jeg er glad for at se dig. I am happy seeing you
be happy to... være + adjective + for at + infinitive Jeg er glad for at se dig. I am happy to see you
plan to... verb + at + infinitive Jeg planlægger at spise. I plan to do
plan doing... verb + at + infinitive Jeg planlægger at spise. I plan doing
see someone do... verb + object + bare infinitive Jeg ser ham løbe. I saw him run
see someone doing... verb + object + bare infinitive (or at + clause) Jeg ser ham løbe. / Jeg ser, at han løber. I saw him running
do something to... verb + for at + infinitive Jeg spiser for at lege. I eat to play/in order to play
18- SUBJUNCTIVE
Wishes ville ønske, at...
Hypothetical past tense + ville
Suggestions at + normal verb
Commands imperative / skulle
Necessity ordinary present
Possibility ordinary present
Fixed expressions genuine subjunctive remains
19- TAG QUESTIONS
ikke? isn't it?, right? Most common, neutral
vel? right?, isn't that so? Speaker expects agreement
ikke også? isn't that right?, right? Very common in speech
jo? yes? / surely? Used after negative statements
hva'? right? / eh? Informal (short for hvad?)
eller hvad? or what? Informal
ikke sandt? isn't that true? Formal
gør du? / er han? / kan de? do you? / is he? / can they? True question, not a fixed tag
Er det ikke sandt? Isn't that true?
Kommer du ikke? Aren't you coming?
Har du ikke tid? Don't you have time?
Kan du ikke hjælpe mig? Can't you help me?
Vil du ikke med? Won't you come along?
Skal vi ikke gå? Shouldn't we go?
Ved du ikke det? Don't you know that?
Har du ikke hørt det? Haven't you heard that?
20- MODAL WORDS
# Danish Transliteration English meaning Example English
1 kunne kun-neh can; be able to; could Jeg kan svømme. I can swim.
2 ville vil-leh will; want to; would Jeg vil spise. I want to eat.
3 skulle skool-leh shall; should; be supposed to Jeg skal arbejde. I have to / am going to work.
4 måtte mot-teh must; may; have to Jeg må gå. I must/may go.
5 burde boor-deh should; ought to Du bør læse. You should read.
6 turde toor-deh dare; be willing to risk Jeg tør ikke gøre det. I don't dare do it.
7 behøve behø-veh need to Du behøver ikke komme. You don't need to come.
8 gide gee-deh feel like; be bothered to Jeg gider ikke arbejde. I don't feel like working.
2. Modal verb forms by function
Ability
Danish English
kunne can / be able to
kan can
kunne could
kunnet been able to
Jeg kan svømme.
yai kan svøm-meh
= I can swim.
Jeg kunne svømme.
= I could swim.
3. Possibility
Danish English
kunne can / could / might
måske maybe
muligvis possibly
eventuelt possibly / alternatively
sandsynligvis probably
formentlig probably
formodentlig presumably
antagelig presumably
nok probably / likely
vist apparently / probably
vel presumably / probably
måske nok perhaps
det kan være it may be
det er muligt it is possible
det er muligt, at it is possible that
Example:
Han kan komme i morgen.
= He may/can come tomorrow.
Han kommer måske i morgen.
= He may come tomorrow.
4. Necessity
Danish English
måtte must / have to
skal must / have to
behøve at need to
være nødt til at have to / be forced to
være nødvendigt at be necessary to
kræve at require that
det er nødvendigt it is necessary
det er påkrævet it is required
det er nødvendigt, at it is necessary that
Jeg må gå.
= I must go.
Jeg er nødt til at gå.
= I have to go.
5. Obligation / duty
Danish English
skulle have to / be supposed to
skal must / have to
måtte have to
bør should / ought to
burde should / ought to
være forpligtet til at be obliged to
være pålagt at be required to
have pligt til at have a duty to
have pligt til be obligated to
være nødt til at have to
Du skal arbejde.
= You have to work.
Du bør arbejde.
= You should work.
6. Permission
Danish English
måtte may / be allowed to
må may / can
kunne can / be allowed to
have lov til at be allowed to
få lov til at get permission to
være tilladt at be permitted to
have tilladelse til at have permission to
Må jeg komme ind?
= May I come in?
Du må gå.
= You may go.
Du har lov til at gå.
= You are allowed to go.
7. Prohibition
Danish English
må ikke must not / may not
ikke måtte not be allowed to
må ikke få lov til at must not be allowed to
være forbudt at be forbidden to
være ikke tilladt not be permitted
have forbud mod at be prohibited from
Du må ikke ryge her.
= You must not smoke here.
Det er forbudt at ryge.
= Smoking is forbidden.
8. Advice / recommendation
Danish English
bør should
burde should / ought to
skulle should, in some constructions
gerne skulle should preferably
hellere rather
helst preferably
det er bedst at it is best to
det ville være bedst at it would be best to
jeg synes, du bør... I think you should...
du burde... you ought to...
Du bør læse denne bog.
= You should read this book.
Du burde gå hjem.
= You should go home.
9. Willingness
Danish English
ville want to / be willing to
vil will / want to
gerne ville would like to
gerne gladly / would like to
have lyst til at feel like / want to
være villig til at be willing to
være parat til at be ready/willing to
være indstillet på at be prepared/willing to
Jeg vil hjælpe dig.
= I want to / will help you.
Jeg vil gerne hjælpe dig.
= I would like to help you.
10. Desire
Danish English
ville want
ønske at wish to
ønske sig wish for
have lyst til at feel like / want to
gerne ville would like to
håbe at hope to
håbe på at hope for/to
drømme om at dream of
foretrække at prefer to
helst ville would preferably want
Jeg vil gerne rejse.
= I would like to travel.
Jeg ønsker at rejse.
= I wish to travel.
11. Intention
Danish English
ville intend to / want to
skulle be going to / be scheduled to
have til hensigt at intend to
agter at intend to
planlægge at plan to
have planer om at have plans to
have tænkt sig at intend to
være ved at be about to / be in the process of
stå til at be set to / be due to
Jeg skal rejse i morgen.
= I am going to travel tomorrow.
Jeg har tænkt mig at rejse.
= I intend to travel.
12. Prediction
Danish English
ville would
vil will
skulle shall / will / be expected to
komme til at end up / be going to
forventes at be expected to
sandsynligvis probably
formentlig probably
formodentlig presumably
nok probably
vist apparently / probably
Det vil regne i morgen.
= It will rain tomorrow.
Det kommer til at regne.
= It is going to rain.
13. Probability
Danish English
måske maybe
muligvis possibly
sandsynligvis probably
formentlig probably
formodentlig presumably
antagelig presumably
nok probably
vist apparently / probably
vel presumably
åbenbart apparently
tilsyneladende apparently
øjensynlig apparently
efter alt at dømme apparently / judging by everything
det ser ud til at it seems that
det tyder på at it indicates that
det kan være at it may be that
14. Certainty
Danish English
sikkert surely / certainly
bestemt definitely
helt sikkert certainly
naturligvis naturally / of course
selvfølgelig of course
afgjort definitely
absolut absolutely
utvivlsomt undoubtedly
uden tvivl without doubt
ganske vist admittedly / indeed
sandelig indeed
faktisk actually / in fact
virkelig really
15. Uncertainty / doubt
Danish English
måske maybe
muligvis possibly
måske ikke maybe not
ikke sikkert not certain
usikkert uncertain
tvivlsomt doubtful
næppe hardly / probably not
sandsynligvis ikke probably not
formentlig ikke probably not
vist ikke apparently not
vel ikke presumably not
jeg tvivler på, at I doubt that
det er tvivlsomt, om it is doubtful whether
16. “Must be / probably is”
Danish må can express logical inference, not only obligation.
Han må være hjemme.
han moh veh-re yem-meh
= He must be at home.
= I conclude that he is probably/certainly at home.
Compare:
Han skal være hjemme.
= He is supposed to be at home.
So:
må → inference / conclusion
skal → obligation / expectation
17. “Should be / ought to be”
bør and burde:
Danish English
Han bør være hjemme. He should be at home.
Han burde være hjemme. He ought to / should be at home.
burde is the past-form morphology of bør, but it is also commonly used for hypothetical/advisory meanings.
18. “Dare”
The modal verb turde:
Danish English
Jeg tør gøre det. I dare to do it.
Jeg tør ikke gøre det. I don't dare to do it.
Tør du gøre det? Do you dare to do it?
Jeg turde ikke gøre det. I didn't dare to do it.
19. “Need”
The modal-like verb behøve:
Danish English
Jeg behøver at gå. I need to go.
Du behøver ikke komme. You don't need to come.
Behøver jeg at betale? Do I need to pay?
Du behøvede ikke at komme. You didn't need to come.
Very commonly:
behøver ikke + infinitive
= do not need to
20. “Feel like / be bothered”
gide is an important Danish modal-like verb.
Danish English
Jeg gider spise. I feel like eating.
Jeg gider ikke spise. I don't feel like eating.
Gider du hjælpe mig? Do you feel like helping me? / Will you help me?
Jeg gad ikke vente. I didn't feel like waiting.
21. Modal adverbs
These are extremely important in Danish.
Danish English
måske maybe
muligvis possibly
sandsynligvis probably
formentlig probably
formodentlig presumably
antagelig presumably
nok probably / likely
vist apparently / probably
vel presumably / probably
sikkert certainly
bestemt definitely
absolut absolutely
naturligvis naturally / of course
selvfølgelig of course
åbenbart apparently
øjensynlig apparently
tilsyneladende apparently
næppe hardly / probably not
virkelig really
faktisk actually
slet at all
gerne gladly / would like to
helst preferably
hellere rather
desværre unfortunately
forhåbentlig hopefully
heldigvis fortunately
22. Danish modal particles
Danish uses a particularly important group of small words that modify the speaker's attitude, expectation, emphasis, or relationship with the listener.
Danish Approximate English function Example
jo you know / as you know / after all Du ved jo det.
da surely / after all / indeed Det er da mærkeligt.
vel presumably / surely / right? Det er vel rigtigt?
nok probably / I suppose Han kommer nok.
vist apparently / probably Han er vist hjemme.
nu now / well Det må du nu forstå.
så then / so Hvad skal vi så gøre?
bare just / simply Du kan bare komme.
lige just / simply Kom lige her.
jo indeed / as expected Det er jo klart.
dog though / after all Det er dog mærkeligt.
egentlig actually / really Hvad vil du egentlig?
mon I wonder / whether Mon han kommer?
endelig finally / by all means Kom endelig indenfor.
Some of these are also classified as adverbs or particles, rather than modal words strictly.
23. Mon — special Danish modal/question particle
mon is particularly characteristic of Danish.
It expresses wondering/speculation.
Mon han kommer?
= I wonder if he will come.
Mon det bliver dyrt?
= I wonder if it will be expensive.
Mon ikke han kommer?
= Surely he will come? / I wonder if he won't come?
24. Modal expressions
Danish English
det kan være it may be
det kunne være it could be
det må være it must be
det burde være it should be
det skal være it is supposed to be
det vil være it will be
det ville være it would be
det er muligt it is possible
det er umuligt it is impossible
det er sandsynligt it is likely
det er usandsynligt it is unlikely
det er nødvendigt it is necessary
det er ikke nødvendigt it is not necessary
det er tilladt it is permitted
det er ikke tilladt it is not permitted
det er forbudt it is forbidden
det er vigtigt it is important
det er ønskeligt it is desirable
det er muligt at it is possible to
det er nødvendigt at it is necessary to
det er bedst at it is best to
det er sandsynligt at it is likely that
25. “Have to”
Several Danish constructions express English have to:
Danish English
skal have to / must
må must / have to
være nødt til at have to
være tvunget til at be forced to
have pligt til at be obliged to
være forpligtet til at be obligated to
Example:
Jeg skal arbejde.
= I have to work.
Jeg er nødt til at arbejde.
= I have to work.
Jeg er tvunget til at arbejde.
= I am forced to work.
26. “Would”
Danish normally uses ville for English would.
English Danish
I would go. Jeg ville gå.
I would eat. Jeg ville spise.
I wouldn't go. Jeg ville ikke gå.
Would you go? Ville du gå?
I would have gone. Jeg ville være gået.
I would like to go. Jeg ville gerne gå.
27. “Could”
Danish uses kunne.
English Danish
I can go. Jeg kan gå.
I could go. Jeg kunne gå.
I couldn't go. Jeg kunne ikke gå.
Could you help me? Kunne du hjælpe mig?
It could be true. Det kunne være sandt.
28. “Should”
Danish uses bør / burde.
English Danish
I should go. Jeg bør gå.
I should go. Jeg burde gå.
You shouldn't do it. Du bør ikke gøre det.
You shouldn't do it. Du burde ikke gøre det.
It should be easy. Det burde være nemt.
29. “May / might”
Danish has several ways to express this:
English Danish
may må / kan
might kunne
may perhaps måske
might possibly muligvis kunne
probably sandsynligvis
might be kunne være
Examples:
Han må være hjemme.
= He must be at home. (inference)
Han kan være hjemme.
= He may be at home.
Han kunne være hjemme.
= He could/might be at home.
Han er måske hjemme.
= He may/might be at home.
21- THERE IS / HAVE / BE
There is a book. Der er en bog.
There are books. Der er bøger.
There isn't a book. Der er ikke en bog.
There aren't any books. Der er ikke nogen bøger.
Is there a book? Er der en bog?
Was there a problem? Var der et problem?
There was a problem. Der var et problem.
There will be a meeting. Der vil være et møde.
There has been an accident. Der har været en ulykke.
There had been a storm. Der havde været en storm.
There can be mistakes. Der kan være fejl.
There must be an answer. Der må være et svar.
Infinitive have to have
Present har have / has
Past havde had
Present Perfect har haft have/has had
Past Perfect havde haft had had
Future vil have will have
Future Perfect vil have haft will have had
Present Passive haves (rare) is had/owned
Past Passive havedes (very rare) was had
Jeg havde en cykel. I had a bicycle.
IMPERATIVES:
Positive command Imperative Kom!
Negative command Imperative + ikke Kom ikke!
Polite request Imperative + venligst Vent venligst.
Invitation Imperative Kom ind!
Let's... Lad os + infinitive Lad os gå.
Warning Imperative Pas på!
Advice Imperative Sov mere.
Be + past participle Bliv + participle Bliv informeret.
Be in a state Vær + adjective/participle Vær forberedt.
Don't be... Bliv/Vær + ikke + participle/adjective Bliv ikke narret.
Formal instruction skal + passive Billetter skal fremvises.
Public notice passive statement Døren holdes lukket.
Let's be happy. Lad os være glade.