Danish verbs

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Contents 1 Present Tense 2 Past Tense 3 The Perfect Tenses 3.1 Present Perfect Tense 3.2 Past Perfect Tense 4 Word Order 5 Irregular Verbs

Present Tense

The present tense of Danish verbs is formed by the addition of -r to the infinitive of the verb:

at tale (to speak)

Singular	Plural
jeg taler	vi taler
du taler	I taler
han taler hun taler den/det taler	de taler

Notice that the present tense does not change according to person (pronoun) or number (I vs. we). This true for ALL danish verbs, including irregular ones like at være (to be):

at være (to be)

Singular	Plural
jeg er	vi er
du er	I er
han er hun er den/det er	de er

• For a list of irregular verbs, see Danish verbs: Irregular verbs.

Note that, for English I speak/I am speaking, Danish only has jeg taler. Also, where English I am going indicates or is interchangeable with I will go, Danish follows a similar construction:

I am going/will go to Denmark tomorrow. = Jeg tager/skal til Danmark i morgen.

Past Tense

The Perfect Tenses

Present Perfect Tense

Past Perfect Tense

Word Order

Word order in basic declarative sentences is the same as English:

Jeg går i byen. (I'm going into town, often meaning: I'm going out [shopping/for a drink, etc.])

Du taler godt dansk. (You speak good Danish)

Word order in basic questions is similar to other Germanic languages, but different from English:

Går du i byen? (Are you going into town?/Are you going out?)

Kan han tale dansk? (Can he speak danish?)

Danish is what is known as a V2 language. This means that, in order to be grammatically correct, the verb must always be the second idea in a sentence:

Jeg spiser med familien. Så går jeg i byen. (I'm eating with my family. Then, I'm going out)

Please note than when the subject is displaced by another word as above, the subject must move directly behind the verb. It cannot be put elsewhere.

The fact that the verb must be the second idea in a sentence does not necessarily mean it must be the second word:

Jeg tager til Danmark i dag. I morgen tager jeg til Norge. (I'm going to Denmark today. Tomorrow, I'm going to Norway)

Jeg bor i USA. Da jeg var tolv, boede jeg i Danmark. (I live in the USA. When I was twelve, I lived in Denmark)

Irregular Verbs

Danish irregular verbs are usually referred to as strong verbs.

Infinitive	3rd person past	Past participle	English
at bede	bad	bedt	to pray/to ask
at betyde	betød	betydet	to mean
at bide	bed	bidt	to bite
at binde	bandt	bundet	to tie
at blive	blev	blevet	to become
at bringe	bragte	bragt	to bring
at briste	bristede	bristet	to burst
at bryde	brød	brudt	to break
at burde	burde	burdet	modalverb (he should)
at byde	bød	budt	to offer
at bære	bar	båret	to carry
at drage	drog	draget	to pull
at drikke	drak	drukket	to drink
at drive	drev	drevet	to drive/force
at dø	døde	døet	to die
at dølge	dulgte	dulgt	to conceal
at falde	faldt	faldet	to fall
at fare	for	faret	to rush/dash/scurry
at finde	fandt	fundet	to find
at flyde	flød	flydt	to float
at flyve	fløj	fløjet	to fly
at fnyse	fnøs, fnyste	fnyst	to snort/fume
at fornemme	fornemmede	fornemmet	to sense
at fortryde	fortrød	fortrudt	to reget
at fryse	frøs	frosset	to freeze
at følge	fulgte	fulgt	to follow
at få	fik	fået	to get
at gide	gad	gidet	"should like to"
at give	gav	givet	to give
at glide	gled	gledet	to slip
at gnide	gned	gnedet	to rub
at gribe	greb	grebet	to grab
at græde	græd	grædt	to cry
at gyde	gød	gydt	to pour
at gyse	gøs	gyst	to shiver
at gælde	gjaldt	gjaldt	to be valid
at gøre	gjorde	gjort	to do
at gå	gik	gået	to walk
at have	havde	haft	to have
at hedde	hed	heddet	to be named
at hive	hev	hevet	to tug/heave
at hjælpe	hjalp	hjulpet	to help
at holde	holdt	holdt	to hold
at hænge	hang	hængt	to hang
at jage	jog	jaget	to hunt
at klinge	klang	klinget	to sound/ring
at knibe	kneb	knebet	to pinch/squeeze
at krybe	krøb	krøbet	to creep
at kunne	kan	kunnet	modalverb (he can)
at kvæde	kvad	kvædet	to chant
at kvæle	kvalte	kvalt	to strangle
at lade	lod	ladet / ladt	to pretend
at le	lo	leet	to laugh
at lide	led	lidt	to suffer
at ligge	lå	ligget	to lie (down)
at lyde	lød	lydt	to sound
at lyve	løj	løjet	to lie (not tell the truth)
at lægge	lagde	lagt	to lay
at løbe	løb	løbet	to run
at måtte	måtte	måttet	modal verb (he may/he must)
at nyde	nød	nydt	to enjoy
at nyse	nøs, nyste	nyst	to sneeze
at pibe	peb	pebet	to whistle
at ride	red	redet	to ride
at rinde	randt	rundet	to flow
at rive	rev	revet	to scratch/tear
at ryge	røg	røget	to smoke
at række	rakte	rakt	to hand
at se	så	set	to see
at sidde	sad	siddet	to sit
at skride	skred	skredet	to stalk/stride
at skrive	skrev	skrevet	to write
at skulle	skal	skullet	modal verb (he shall)
at skyde	skød	skudt	to shoot
at skære	skar	skåret	to cut
at slibe	sleb	slebet	to sharpen
at slide	sled	slidt	to toil
at slippe	slap	sluppet	to let go
at slå	slog	slået	to hit
at smide	smed	smidt	to throw
at smøre	smurte	smurt	to smear
at snige	sneg	sneget	to sneak
at snyde	snød	snydt	to cheat
at sove	sov	sovet	to sleep
at spinde	spandt	spundet	to spin
at springe	sprang	sprunget	to leap
at sprække	sprak	sprukket	to crack
at spørge	spurgte	spurgt	to ask
at stige	steg	steget	to rise
at stikke	stak	stukket	to sting
at stinke	stank	stunket	to stink
at stjæle	stjal	stjålet	to steal
at stride	stred	stridt	to fight
at stryge	strøg	strøget	to stroke
at strække	strakte	strakt	to stretch
at stå	stod	stået	to stand
at svide	sved	svedet	to singe
at svige	sveg	sveget	to let down
at svinde	svandt	svundet	to decrease
at svinge	svang / svingede	svunget / svinget	to swing
at sværge	svor	svoret	to swear
at synge	sang	sunget	to sing
at synke	sank	sunket	to sink, swallow
at sælge	solgte	solgt	to sell
at sætte	satte	sat	to sit
at tage	tog	taget	to take
at tie	tav (tiede)	tiet	to be quiet
at træde	trådte	trådt	to step
at træffe	traf	truffet	to meet
at trække	trak	trukket	to pull
at turde	turde	turdet	to dare
at tvinde	tvandt	tvundet	to twist
at tvinge	tvang	tvunget	to force
at tælle	talte	talt	to count
at vide	vidste	vidst	to know
at vige	veg	veget	to retreat
at ville	ville	villet	modalverb (he will)
at vinde	vandt	vundet	to win
at vride	vred	vredet	to wring
at vække	vakte	vakt	to wake
at vælge	valgte	valgt	to choose
at være	var	været	to be
at æde	åd	ædt	to eat

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