Complete Danish Grammar Guide

Danish grammar may look difficult at first, but many rules are actually simple once you understand the patterns. This guide explains the most important grammar topics in clear language.

If you are learning Danish for the first time, start with sentence structure and nouns. After that you can move on to verbs and adjectives.

Danish Sentence Structure

Danish sentences usually follow the same structure as English. The normal order is subject, verb, and object.

This means the person or thing doing the action comes first. The verb comes next. The object comes after that.

One special rule in Danish is that the verb normally stays in the second position of the sentence.

Danish	English
Jeg spiser æbler.	I eat apples.
Hun læser en bog.	She reads a book.
Vi lærer dansk.	We learn Danish.

Danish Nouns and Gender

Danish nouns have two grammatical genders. These are common gender and neuter gender.

Common gender uses the article 'en'. Neuter gender uses the article 'et'.

This is simpler than many European languages that use three genders.

Danish	English
en bil	a car
et hus	a house
en bog	a book

Danish Verb Conjugation

One reason Danish grammar is considered easier is that verbs change very little.

The verb form normally stays the same for different subjects.

Past tense verbs are usually created by adding ede or te.

Danish	English
Jeg arbejder.	I work.
Vi arbejder.	We work.
Han arbejdede.	He worked.

Danish Adjectives

Adjectives describe nouns. In Danish they sometimes change depending on gender or number.

When the noun is neuter the adjective usually adds a t.

When the noun is plural the adjective normally ends with e.

Danish	English
en stor bil	a big car
et stort hus	a big house
store biler	big cars

Danish Questions

Questions in Danish are often formed by placing the verb before the subject.

This is similar to English questions like 'Do you speak Danish?'.

Question words such as hvad, hvor, and hvorfor are also very common.

Danish	English
Taler du dansk?	Do you speak Danish?
Hvor bor du?	Where do you live?
Hvad laver du?	What are you doing?

Definite Nouns (Bestemt form)

In Danish, the definite article is attached to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like 'the'.

For common gender (en-words), add -en. For neuter gender (et-words), add -et.

If the noun already ends in -e, you usually just add -n or -t. Plural definites add -ne or -ene.

Danish	English
bilen	the car
huset	the house
bogen	the book
bilerne	the cars

Plural Nouns

Danish nouns form plurals in several ways. Common endings are -er, -e, or no ending.

Many nouns (especially common gender) add -er. Some add -e, and a few stay unchanged.

Loanwords and some neuter nouns may have different patterns.

Danish	English
en bil – biler	a car – cars
et hus – huse	a house – houses
en ting – ting	a thing – things
en lærer – lærere	a teacher – teachers

Personal Pronouns

Danish personal pronouns change form depending on their function in the sentence (subject or object).

The subject pronouns are: jeg, du, han/hun/den/det, vi, I, de.

Object pronouns are: mig, dig, ham/hende/den/det, os, jer, dem.

Danish	English
Jeg ser hende.	I see her.
Hun ser mig.	She sees me.
Vi giver dem en gave.	We give them a gift.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns indicate ownership. They agree with the gender and number of the noun they modify.

Common possessives: min, din, sin, hans, hendes, dens, dets, vores, jeres, deres.

For neuter nouns, min becomes mit, din becomes dit, sin becomes sit.

Danish	English
min bil	my car
mit hus	my house
hans bog	his book
vores børn	our children

Reflexive Pronouns

Reflexive pronouns are used when the subject and object are the same person. The main reflexive pronoun is 'sig' for third person.

In first and second person, the object pronouns are used reflexively.

Reflexive verbs often require these pronouns.

Danish	English
Han vasker sig.	He washes himself.
Jeg morer mig.	I enjoy myself.
De glæder sig.	They are looking forward (to it).

Prepositions

Prepositions are short words that show location, time, or direction. Danish prepositions often don't match English usage one-to-one.

Common prepositions: i (in), på (on), til (to), fra (from), med (with), uden (without), for (for), om (about/around).

Many fixed expressions use specific prepositions.

Danish	English
Jeg bor i København.	I live in Copenhagen.
Bogen ligger på bordet.	The book is on the table.
Vi rejser til Spanien.	We travel to Spain.
Hun kommer fra Sverige.	She comes from Sweden.

Conjunctions

Conjunctions link words, phrases, or clauses. There are coordinating (og, men, eller, for) and subordinating (fordi, at, hvis, da, når) conjunctions.

Subordinating conjunctions affect word order: the verb often moves to the end in the subordinate clause.

Coordinating conjunctions do not change word order.

Danish	English
Jeg spiser og drikker.	I eat and drink.
Han er træt, men han arbejder.	He is tired, but he works.
Vi bliver hjemme, fordi det regner.	We stay home because it rains.
Hvis du kommer, laver jeg mad.	If you come, I'll cook.

Present and Past Tenses

Present tense is usually formed by adding -r to the infinitive. Past tense (imperfect) often adds -ede or -te.

Irregular verbs have their own past forms and must be memorized.

The present tense can also express future time with a time adverb.

Danish	English
Jeg spiser (nu).	I eat (now).
Jeg spiste i går.	I ate yesterday.
Han løber hver dag.	He runs every day.
Han løb i morges.	He ran this morning.

Perfect and Pluperfect Tenses

Perfect tense is formed with the auxiliary verb 'have' (or 'være' for some verbs of movement) and the past participle.

Pluperfect uses the past tense of the auxiliary ('havde' or 'var') plus the past participle.

The past participle often ends in -et or -t.

Danish	English
Jeg har spist.	I have eaten.
Hun er gået.	She has left / gone.
Vi havde set filmen.	We had seen the movie.
De var rejst.	They had traveled.

Future Tense

Danish often uses the present tense with a time adverb to express future.

Alternatively, modal verbs like 'vil' (will) or 'skal' (shall) are used.

'Kommer til at' can also express future, especially for inevitable events.

Danish	English
Jeg rejser i morgen.	I travel tomorrow / I will travel tomorrow.
Vi vil besøge dig.	We will visit you.
Hun skal giftes.	She is getting married.
Det kommer til at regne.	It's going to rain.

Modal Verbs

Modal verbs modify the meaning of the main verb: kan (can), vil (will), skal (shall/must), må (may/must), bør (should).

They are followed by the infinitive without 'at'.

Modal verbs have their own past tense forms: kunne, ville, skulle, måtte, burde.

Danish	English
Jeg kan svømme.	I can swim.
Du må ikke ryge.	You must not smoke.
Hun vil gerne have kaffe.	She would like coffee.
Vi skulle have købt mælk.	We should have bought milk.

Imperative (Commands)

The imperative is formed from the verb stem (infinitive without -e for most verbs).

It is used to give orders, instructions, or requests.

The subject 'du' or 'I' is usually omitted.

Danish	English
Kom her!	Come here!
Spis din mad!	Eat your food!
Lad os gå!	Let's go!
Vent lidt!	Wait a moment!

Passive Voice

Passive voice can be formed in two ways: with the suffix -s (the s-passive) or with the auxiliary 'blive' + past participle.

The s-passive is common in formal or written Danish. 'Blive'-passive is used for actions.

The passive focuses on the action or the object rather than who performs it.

Danish	English
Døren åbnes.	The door is opened (by someone).
Huset bliver malet.	The house is being painted.
Bogen blev skrevet i 1900.	The book was written in 1900.
Der danses.	There is dancing / People dance.

Comparative and Superlative of Adjectives

Adjectives have three forms: positive, comparative, and superlative.

Comparative is usually formed by adding -ere, superlative by adding -est. Some adjectives use 'mere' and 'mest' (like English 'more' and 'most').

Irregular forms exist: god – bedre – bedst (good – better – best).

Danish	English
en stor bil – en større bil – den største bil	a big car – a bigger car – the biggest car
en interessant bog – en mere interessant bog – den mest interessante bog	an interesting book – a more interesting book – the most interesting book
Hun er yngre end ham.	She is younger than him.

Adverbs

Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. Many adverbs are derived from adjectives by adding -t.

Some adverbs are independent words, like 'altid' (always), 'ofte' (often), 'her' (here).

Word order: adverbs usually come after the verb in main clauses, but before the verb in subordinate clauses.

Danish	English
Hun løber hurtigt.	She runs quickly.
Vi spiser ofte ude.	We often eat out.
Han er her ikke.	He is not here.
Jeg har aldrig set det.	I have never seen it.

Word Order in Main Clauses

In main clauses, Danish follows the V2 rule: the verb is always the second element.

If another element (adverb, object) is placed first, the subject moves after the verb.

This inversion is typical in questions and after fronting.

Danish	English
I dag regner det.	Today it rains.
Bogen læser han.	The book, he reads.
Aldrig har jeg set sådan noget.	Never have I seen such a thing.

Word Order in Subordinate Clauses

In subordinate clauses (introduced by words like 'fordi', 'at', 'hvis'), the word order changes.

The adverb usually comes before the verb, unlike in main clauses.

The verb does not move to second position; it stays after the subject and adverbs.

Danish	English
Han siger, at han ikke kommer.	He says that he is not coming.
Fordi vejret er dårligt, bliver vi hjemme.	Because the weather is bad, we stay home.
Hvis du altid kommer for sent, ...	If you always arrive late, ...

Negation

Negation is usually formed with the word 'ikke' (not). It is placed after the verb in main clauses.

In subordinate clauses, 'ikke' often comes before the verb.

Other negative words: 'ingen' (no/none), 'intet' (nothing), 'aldrig' (never).

Danish	English
Jeg kan ikke lide fisk.	I don't like fish.
Hun har ingen penge.	She has no money.
Vi ser aldrig fjernsyn.	We never watch TV.
Han sagde, at han ikke vidste det.	He said that he didn't know it.

Relative Clauses

Relative clauses give more information about a noun. They are introduced by 'som' (who, which, that).

'Som' can be the subject or object of the relative clause. When it is the object, it can sometimes be omitted.

The word order in relative clauses is like subordinate clauses (adverb before verb).

Danish	English
Manden, som bor her, er læge.	The man who lives here is a doctor.
Bogen, som du læser, er god.	The book (that) you are reading is good.
Det er noget, jeg aldrig har prøvet.	That is something I have never tried.

Numbers and Time Expressions

Numbers in Danish have unique forms, and there are special words for telling time.

Time expressions often use prepositions like 'i', 'om', 'for', 'siden'.

Note that Danish uses a 24-hour clock in writing, but in speech the 12-hour clock is common with context.

Danish	English
Klokken er halv tre.	It is half past two (literally half three).
Vi mødes i morgen klokken ti.	We meet tomorrow at ten.
Hun kom for en time siden.	She came an hour ago.
Jeg har boet her i fem år.	I have lived here for five years.

Conditional Sentences

Conditional sentences express 'if... then' situations. They use 'hvis' (if) in the if-clause.

In real conditions, the present tense is used in both clauses.

In unreal conditions (contrary to fact), the past tense or past perfect is used with 'ville' in the main clause.

Danish	English
Hvis du kommer, laver jeg mad.	If you come, I'll cook.
Hvis jeg havde penge, ville jeg rejse.	If I had money, I would travel.
Hvis hun var kommet, havde vi set hende.	If she had come, we would have seen her.