Saying who you are · Danish grammar A1

Talking about people: subject pronouns, jeg, du, I, De and man#

The verb does not show the person, so a subject pronoun is always expressed in a Danish sentence.

Jeg hedder Emil, og du hedder Sara.I’m called Emil and you’re called Sara.
Hun bor i Aalborg med to katte.She lives in Aalborg with two cats.
Vi kommer fra Tyskland, men vi bor i Vejle.We come from Germany, but we live in Vejle.
Hvor bor I?Where do you live? (to several people)
De taler engelsk og fransk.They speak English and French.
I Danmark cykler man meget.In Denmark people cycle a lot.

Formation

In the singular, the subject pronouns for people are jeg (I), du (you), han (he) and hun (she).
In the plural, they are vi (we), I (you) and de (they).
De with a capital is the polite “you”; at the start of a sentence, it may also be de (they).
Den and det stand for things. They are set out in Replacing a thing: the pronouns den, det, de and det er.

Person	Singular	Plural
1st	jeg (I)	vi (we)
2nd	du (you)	I (you)
3rd	han (he), hun (she), den, det (it)	de (they)
polite	De (you)	De (you)

Use

The subject pronoun is always expressed: Jeg taler dansk. (“I speak Danish.”), never Taler dansk. (“Speak Danish.”)
Du is used to address one person, whoever that person is, and I to address two or more people.
De is no longer the normal way of addressing a stranger. It is kept for formal letters and very formal situations.
Man means “one”, “you” or “people” in general, and the verb has its usual form. It is used much more than English “one”.

Capital letters

The pronoun I (you) is always written with a capital letter.
The pronoun jeg has a small letter, except at the start of a sentence.

Difference from English

Danish I means “you” to several people, and English “I” is jeg: Jeg bor her, og I bor i Vejle. (“I live here, and you live in Vejle.”)
The general “you” of English (“you never know”) is usually man in Danish: Man ved aldrig. (“You never know.”)

Common mistakes

~~Er fra Odense.~~ → Jeg er fra Odense.The subject pronoun is not left out.
~~Mia og Emil, hvor bor du?~~ → Mia og Emil, hvor bor I?Two people are addressed as I.
~~Bor i i Vejle?~~ → Bor I i Vejle?The pronoun I is written with a capital.

Remember

Always use a subject pronoun: Jeg er fra Odense. (“I am from Odense.”)
Use du for one person and I for several: Hvor bor I? (“Where do you live?”)
Use man for people in general: I Danmark cykler man meget. (“In Denmark people cycle a lot.”)

You now know the Danish subject pronouns and when to use du, I and man.

Practise

“Saying who you are: jeg er, han hedder, hvad, hvor, ja, nej, jo”, Talking about other people: han, hun, vi, de, I, De

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Saying who you are: the present (present simple), er, hedder, bor#

The present (present simple) has one form for every person and number: jeg er, du er, hun er, de er.

Jeg hedder Freja.My name is Freja.
Hvad hedder du? – Jeg hedder Jonas.What’s your name? – My name is Jonas.
Hun kommer fra Spanien.She comes from Spain.
Min søster og jeg bor i Esbjerg.My sister and I live in Esbjerg.
De er i London nu.They’re in London now.

Formation

For most verbs, the present is the infinitive with -r added: hedde, hedder; komme, kommer; bo, bor.
The regular present is set out in Saying what you do: the present (present simple), bor, taler, kommer.
Være (to be) has the irregular present er. It is set out in Being and having: er and har, the present (present simple) of være and have.

Subject	være	hedde	komme	bo
jeg, du	er	hedder	kommer	bor
han, hun, den, det	er	hedder	kommer	bor
vi, I, de	er	hedder	kommer	bor

Use

Hedder is used to give a name: Jeg hedder Jonas. (“My name is Jonas.”)
Er is used to say who or what someone is: Det er Jonas. (“It’s Jonas.”), Jonas er glad. (“Jonas is happy.”)
Kommer fra is used for the place someone comes from, and bor i for the place someone lives in.
Kommer fra and bor i can be used in one sentence: Jeg kommer fra England, men jeg bor i Odense. (“I come from England, but I live in Odense.”)

Difference from English

English has am, are and is; Danish has er for every subject: Jeg er glad, og hun er træt. (“I am happy, and she is tired.”)
Danish has no continuous form, so one present is used for both English forms: Hvad drikker du? (“What do you drink?” or “What are you drinking?”)

Common mistakes

~~Jeg hedde Karl.~~ → Jeg hedder Karl.Hedde is the infinitive; the present ends in -r.
~~Hun bors i Odense.~~ → Hun bor i Odense.There is no -s in the third person.

Remember

Use one form for every person: jeg bor, du bor, hun bor, vi bor, de bor.
Use hedder for your name: Jeg hedder Freja. (“My name is Freja.”)
Use er for am, are and is: Vi er fra Danmark. (“We are from Denmark.”)

You now know one present form for every person, and how to say who you are and where you live.

Practise

“Saying who you are: jeg er, han hedder, hvad, hvor, ja, nej, jo”, Saying who you are: jeg er, jeg hedder, jeg bor

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Asking yes-or-no questions: the verb before the subject#

A yes-or-no question begins with the verb, followed by the subject, and no word for “do” is added.

Taler du engelsk? – Ja.Do you speak English? – Yes.
Er Freja træt? – Nej.Is Freja tired? – No.
Har I børn?Do you have children?
Kommer Jonas fra Aarhus?Does Jonas come from Aarhus?
Kan du svømme?Can you swim?

Formation

A yes-or-no question begins with the finite verb (the conjugated verb). The subject comes after it: Bor du her? (“Do you live here?”)
The verb has the same form as in the statement.
With two verbs, the finite verb is placed first and the infinitive comes after the subject: Kan du svømme? (“Can you swim?”)

Statement	Question
Du taler dansk.	Taler du dansk?
Mads er hjemme.	Er Mads hjemme?
I har en hund.	Har I en hund?
Du kan svømme.	Kan du svømme?

Answers

The answers are ja (yes) and nej (no).
A question with ikke is answered as in Answering yes and no: ja, nej, jo and the tag ikke.

Difference from English

Most English questions are formed with “do” or “does”; in Danish, the verb is placed first: Kommer Jonas fra Aarhus? (“Does Jonas come from Aarhus?”)
In Danish, any verb can be placed first, “be” too: Er Mads hjemme? (“Is Mads at home?”) In English, only “be” and the auxiliaries (“can”, “will”) are placed first.

Common mistakes

~~Gør du tale dansk?~~ → Taler du dansk?There is no “do” in a Danish question.
~~Du spiller fodbold?~~ → Spiller du fodbold?A yes-or-no question begins with the verb.

Remember

Put the verb first in a yes-or-no question: Taler du dansk? (“Do you speak Danish?”)
Never add a word for “do”: Bor dine forældre i Aarhus? (“Do your parents live in Aarhus?”)

You now know how to ask a yes-or-no question with the verb first.

Practise

“Saying who you are: jeg er, han hedder, hvad, hvor, ja, nej, jo”, Asking yes or no: the verb first, Bor du her

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Asking for information: question words, hvad, hvem, hvor, hvornår, hvordan, hvorfor#

A question word is placed first, followed by the verb and then the subject.

Hvad drikker du?What are you drinking?
Hvor kommer jeres lærer fra?Where does your teacher come from?
Hvem ringer?Who’s calling?
Hvornår spiser vi?When are we eating?
Hvor gammel er din søn?How old is your son?
Hvorfor er Emil så glad?Why is Emil so happy?

Formation

A question word is placed first and is followed by the finite verb, then the subject: Hvor bor du? (“Where do you live?”)
When hvem or hvad is itself the subject, it is followed directly by the verb: Hvem bor her? (“Who lives here?”)
A preposition that belongs to the question word is usually placed at the end: Hvor kommer dine forældre fra? (“Where do your parents come from?”)
Written Danish also has hvorfra in one word at the front: Hvorfra kommer du? (“Where do you come from?”)

Question word	Meaning	Example
hvad	what	Hvad hedder du?
hvem	who	Hvem er det?
hvor	where	Hvor bor I?
hvor … fra, hvorfra	where from	Hvor kommer dine forældre fra?
hvornår	when	Hvornår kommer bussen?
hvordan	how	Hvordan har du det?
hvorfor	why	Hvorfor er du træt?
hvilken, hvilket, hvilke	which	Hvilken bus tager du?
hvor meget, hvor mange	how much, how many	Hvor mange sprog taler du?

Use

Before an adjective or adverb, hvor means “how”: hvor gammel (how old), hvor tit (how often), hvor længe (how long).
Hvor meget is used with an uncountable noun, and hvor mange with a plural noun.
Hvilken agrees with its noun, as set out in Asking which and saying such: hvilken, hvilket, hvilke, sådan en.
Hvordan har du det? (“How are you?”) and Hvordan går det? (“How are things?”) are fixed phrases.

Difference from English

After an English question word, “do” is added; in Danish, the verb comes second: Hvor bor du? (“Where do you live?”)

Common mistakes

~~Hvor du bor?~~ → Hvor bor du?After the question word, the verb comes second and the subject after it.
~~Hvad gør du drikke?~~ → Hvad drikker du?There is no “do” after a question word.
~~Hvordan er du?~~ → Hvordan har du det?“How are you?” is the fixed phrase Hvordan har du det?; Hvordan er du? asks what someone is like.

Remember

Put the verb right after the question word: Hvornår starter filmen? (“When does the film start?”)
Use hvor meget with an uncountable noun and hvor mange with a plural: Hvor mange sprog taler du? (“How many languages do you speak?”)

You now know the main question words and the word order after them.

Practise

“Saying who you are: jeg er, han hedder, hvad, hvor, ja, nej, jo”, Asking with a question word: hvad, hvor, hvem, hvorfra, hvordan

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Answering yes and no: ja, nej, jo and the tag ikke#

An ordinary question is answered with ja or nej, but the yes to a question with ikke is jo.

Taler du dansk? – Ja, lidt.Do you speak Danish? – Yes, a little.
Bor Ida ikke i Odense? – Jo, hun bor i Odense.Doesn’t Ida live in Odense? – Yes, she does.
Kommer du ikke i dag? – Nej, jeg er træt.Aren’t you coming today? – No, I’m tired.
Din mor er fra Italien, ikke?Your mother is from Italy, isn’t she?
Det er koldt i dag, ikke?It’s cold today, isn’t it?

Use

Ja (yes) and nej (no) are used to answer an ordinary question.
After a question that contains ikke, the yes that contradicts the negation is jo, and the no is nej.
Ja is not used after a question with ikke.

Question	Yes	No
Er Mia hjemme?	Ja.	Nej.
Er Mia ikke hjemme?	Jo.	Nej.
Mia er hjemme, ikke?	Ja.	Nej.

Practise

“Saying who you are: jeg er, han hedder, hvad, hvor, ja, nej, jo”, Saying yes, no and jo: ja, nej, jo, the tag ikke

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Giving short answers: det first, the verb second, and gør#

A short answer begins with det, followed by the verb of the question or by gør, and then the subject.

Er I fra Danmark? – Ja, det er vi.Are you from Denmark? – Yes, we are.
Har Line en kat? – Nej, det har hun ikke.Does Line have a cat? – No, she doesn’t.
Drikker du kaffe? – Ja, det gør jeg.Do you drink coffee? – Yes, I do.
Vil I spise nu? – Ja, det vil vi.Do you want to eat now? – Yes, we do.
Taler du ikke tysk? – Jo, det gør jeg.Don’t you speak German? – Yes, I do.

Formation

In a short answer, the finite verb of the question is repeated, with det first: Er du sulten? – Ja, det er jeg. (“Are you hungry? – Yes, I am.”)
Er, har and the modal verbs (kan, vil, skal, må) are repeated.
Every other verb is replaced by gør, a form of gøre (to do): Bor I her? – Ja, det gør vi. (“Do you live here? – Yes, we do.”)
In the negative, ikke is placed after the subject: Nej, det gør jeg ikke. (“No, I don’t.”)

Question	Yes	No
Er du sulten?	Ja, det er jeg.	Nej, det er jeg ikke.
Har I en bil?	Ja, det har vi.	Nej, det har vi ikke.
Kan du svømme?	Ja, det kan jeg.	Nej, det kan jeg ikke.
Spiser du fisk?	Ja, det gør jeg.	Nej, det gør jeg ikke.

Use

Det comes first, then the verb. This order is set out in Starting with a time or a place: inversion, the verb before the subject.
After a question with ikke, the yes answer begins with jo: Kommer du ikke? – Jo, det gør jeg. (“Aren’t you coming? – Yes, I am.”)
A short answer may also be ja or nej alone.

Difference from English

English short answers begin with the subject (“Yes, I am”); in Danish, det comes first: Ja, det er jeg. (“Yes, I am.”)
Where “do” is used in English, gør is used in Danish: Drikker du kaffe? – Ja, det gør jeg. (“Do you drink coffee? – Yes, I do.”)

Common mistakes

~~Ja, jeg gør.~~ → Ja, det gør jeg.A short answer begins with det, followed by the verb and the subject.
~~Spiser du fisk? – Ja, det spiser jeg.~~ → Ja, det gør jeg.A verb other than er, har or a modal verb is replaced by gør.
~~Nej, det ikke er jeg.~~ → Nej, det er jeg ikke.Ikke comes after the subject.

Remember

Begin a short answer with det: Ja, det er jeg. (“Yes, I am.”)
Use gør for every verb except er, har and the modal verbs: Ja, det gør jeg. (“Yes, I do.”)
Put ikke after the subject: Nej, det er jeg ikke. (“No, I’m not.”)

In short: saying who you are

Point	Form	Example
subject pronouns	jeg, du, han, hun, vi, I, de; polite De; man	Hun bor i Aalborg med to katte.
the present	one form for every person	jeg er, du er, vi er
yes-or-no question	the verb first	Bor du her?
question words	question word, verb, subject	Hvor bor du?
answers	ja, nej; jo after a question with ikke; the tag ikke?	Jo, hun bor her.
short answers	det + verb + subject; gør for other verbs	Ja, det gør jeg.

You now know how to give a short answer with det and gør.

Practise

“Saying who you are: jeg er, han hedder, hvad, hvor, ja, nej, jo”, Answering briefly: Ja, det gør jeg, Nej, det er jeg ikke

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