The Danish language belongs to the b [b] as in English barn [ba'n] child, bo [bo'] (live) 

                
East Scandinavian branch of the
Germanic subfamily of the Indo- [s] as in English before e/i citron [sitro'n] (lemon)                               
European languages. c [k] before other vowels cacao [käkäo]
[sh] as in shine, written ch in Danish chokolade [shokolä:ð]
GERMANIC LANGUAGES [d] as in day, in the beginning of a word dreng [dræñ] (boy)                                   
----------|------------ d [ð] as th in they after a vowel gade [gä:ð(æ)] (street)
|------English [] mute after l, n, r and before t, s holdt [hål't] (stop), godt (gåt) (good)
|------German
[e] closed e as French é leve [le:væ] (live), mene [me:næ] (mean)    
|------Nordic
[æ] open e as in let or as in French è, in the end spise [sbi:sæ] (eat)
| e
and in a a diphthong sjette [syæ:dæ] (6th), halvfjers [halfyærs]   
|----Vestern
[a] open as in far (without r) before g and j jeg [yai] (I), meget [maiæð] (very), vej [vai']
| |------Islandic
| |------Faroe f [f] as in English far [fa:] (farther)                                         
| |------ [g] as in girl, in the beginning of a word give [gi:væ] or [gi] (give)                            
Norwegian (Nynorsk) [u] as in soon inside or in the end of a word brag [bra'u] (bang), drage [dra:uæ] (kite)   
| g [ñ] as ng in sing synge [süñæ] (sing), sang [sañ'] (song)         
|----Eastern [i] as in live, after a wovel jeg [yai] (I), nøgle [nöilæ] (key)                  
|------Swedish [] sometines silent inside a word tag [tä'] (roof), tage [tä:æ] (roofs, take)      
|------
Norwegian (Bokmål) [h] as in English, in the beginning of a word hat [häd] (hat)
h
|------Danish [h] mute in hv-words and before j hvem [væm'] (who), hvad [vä(ð)] (what)    
  [i] as in feel liv [liu'] (life), ville [vilæ] (would)                 
The history of the Danish language may be divided into three main periods:  i [e] closed e as in inn or as French é vil [vel] (will (present tense))                      
1. Old Danish       (800-1100), Note: i is never pronounced [ai] as in English I am
2. Middle Danish  (1100-1500) [y] as in yes ja [yä] (yes), jeg [yai] (I)                            
3. Modern Danish (from j
[i] after a vowel vej [vai'] (way/road)
1500) 
k [k] as in English can kan [kä'(n)] (can)                                       
l [l] as in English (not American) like lille [lilæ] (small)                                         
The Danish alphabet
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZÆØÅ m [m] as in English meet mor [moa] (mother)                                    
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzæøå [n] as in English name ni [ni'] (nine)
The Danish alphabet has a total of 29 letters: n
[ñ] in ng in song, before k/g sang [sañ'] (song), anker [añka] (anchor)    
9 vowels (a,e,i,o,u,y,æ,ø,å) and
20 consonants [o] closed almost as in november skole [sko:l(æ)] (school)
o
Notice the 3 special Danish letters: [å] sometimes open almost as in open bold [bål'd] (ball)                                       
Letter Construction Old writing [p] aspirated p as in British English Peter Peter [Pe'da]
p
Æ, æ a and e put together Ae, ae [b] inaspirated p as in American, after s spise [sbi:sæ] (eat)                                     
Ø, ø o with / through Oe, oe; Ö, ö q [k] not common in Danish  
Å, å a with a small o above Aa, aa   [r] almost as French r in rue:
If your computer cannot write these letters, you may use the old way of writing. 1. in the beginning of a word rejse [raisæ] (travel)                                   
r
You can also use the ASCII codes on your key-board by holding down the Alt key while typing  2. after a consonant krise [kri:sæ] (crisis)
the numbers shown below.  [a] vocalic r in the end of a word går [gå'a] (goes), løber [lø'ba] (runs)           
Technique: unvoiced as in English see,
s [s] se [se'] (see), siger [si:a] (says)                   
Letter ASCII HTML voiced s never occurs in Danish
Æ alt + 146 Æ [t] asperated t as in British English tage [tä:æ] (take)                                       
t
[d] unaspirated t as in American, after s stor [sdo'a] (big)
Ø alt +0216 Ø
[u] as in soon, inside a word gul [gu'l] (yellow), guld [gul] (gold)              
Å alt + 143 Å u
[å] open o almost as in open, before n ung [åñ'] (young), Ungarn [åñga:n]              
Ö alt + 153   [v] always as in English very vi [vi'] (we), avis [ävi's] (newspaper)           
v
[u] a fast u-sound, in the end of a word blev [bleu'] (became), hav [hau] (sea)         
æ alt + 145 æ
w [v] not common in Danish  
ø alt +0248 ø
x [ks] not common in Danish  
å alt + 134 å [ü] pronounced as [i] with rounded lips, lyve [lü:væ] (lie), lys [lü's] (light),                 
ö alt + 148   1. as German ü or lyst [lü'sd] (lightned)
y
2. as French u in sur
[ø] specially in the beginning of a word yngre [øñræ] (younger), lyst [løst] (like)      
PRONUNCIATION GUIDE
[a] underlined vowel means stress z [s] not common in Danish  
[:] means a long vowel [æ] open e as in let mælk [mælk] (milk)                                    
( ) sound can be omitted                                                                 æ
[a] open a as in far (without r), after r græde [gra:ðæ] (cry)
[ä] as in cat kan [kä'(n)] (can), mand [män'] (man) ø [ø] pronounced as [e] with rounded lips: øl [øl] (beer), møde [mø:ð(æ)] (meet, meeting)
a
[a] open as in far (without r) gammel [gaml] (old)                                   1. as German ö or
 2. as in French heureaux Usage:     1. The definite articles are normally added to a singular or plural noun: 
[ö] more open than ø, as in french cæur gøre [gö:a] (do), nøgle [nöilæ] (key)                                bilen     (the car)                   huset        (the house) 
                    bilerne  (the cars)                 husene      (the houses)
å [å] open o as in open på [på'] (on), åben [å:bæn] (open)                                   bilen er rød (the car is red)
  ['] glottal stop                       bilerne er røde (the cars are red)
                    husene er hvide (the houses are white)
Glottal stop                      
                2. The definite articles are placed before an adjective, as in English: 
The glottal stop is very important and something special for Danish, as it is a sound not found in many                     den røde bil       (the red car),  
languages. It is a phoneme that can give some words quite another meaning. It is not an unknown                     det store hus      (the big house) 
sound in English and is sometimes heard in energetic speech and particularly in "not" [nå't] in London                     de røde biler      (the red cars), 
English. For foreigners the glottal stop may be difficult to use correctly, but never mind even Danes                     de store huse     (the big houses)
cannot always use it correctly particularly not if they are speaking one of our dialects.  
The glottal stop only hits the stressed (accented) syllable of a word.  Note:     The definite article is often used before an abstract noun:
Both vowels and consonants can be hit but never a long vowel.                      livet er kort (life is short)        tilbage til naturen (back to nature)
 
The glottal stop is indicated by a ['] SUBSTANTIVES (NOUNS)
Examples:  
Without glottal stop With glottal stop 1. Genders: there are 2 genders in Danish: 
                    a. common  (n-words)     representing both masculine and feminine nouns 
løber [lø:ba] (a runner) løber [lø'ba] (runs)                     b. neuter     (t-words) 
tager [tä:a] (takes) tag [tä'] (take!, roof)  
anden [ä:nn] (other) anden [än'n] (the duck) 2. Plural: are formed by adding suffixes to the singular form of the noun: 
boret [bo:að] (drilled) bordet [bo'að] (the table)                     1. -e     (some words ending in a consonant):     dag/dage            (day/days) 
bæst [bæsd] (best) bæst [bæ'sd] (fool)                     2. -r     (words ending in -e):                             uge/uger             (week/weeks) 
bønner [böna] (beans, prayers) bønder [bön'a] (farmers)                     3. -er   (other words ending in a consonant):      måned/måneder (month/months) 
hun [hun] (she) hund [hun'] (dog)                     4. the same:                                                      år                       (year/years) 
møller [møla] (miller) Møller [møl'a] (Miller, name)                     5. irregular:                                                       barn/børn           (child/children) 
skal [sgä(l)] (shall) skal [sgä'l] (shell)  
skærende[sgærænæ](cutting) skærene[sgæ'rænæ](the gleams) 3. Cases:  nouns are only inflected in the genitive: 
såret [såað] (injured) såret [så'að] (wound)                     1. genitive: -s     (is added to the last ending of the word): 
tal [täl] (number) tal [tä'l] (speak!)                                     en bils dør                  (the door of a car)
ved [veð] (at, by) ved [veð'] (knows)                                     bilens dør                   (the door of the car), 
ender [æna] ((it) ends) ænder [æn'a] (ducks)                                     bilers døre                  (doors of cars)
                                    bilernes døre               (the doors of the cars)
Notice: Danish vowels can be open or closed                                     mandens                     (the man's) 
and they can be long or short                                     bilens farve er rød       (the colour of the car is red) 
                                    mandens hat er sort     (the man's hat is black)
ARTICLES                     2. genitive: the english "of-construction" is not used very often: 
                                      døren af bilen     (the door of the car) 
There are 2 articles in Danish: common and neuter                          Better: døren på bilen     or     bilens dør
    
1. Indefinite Articles: 4. Order of the added suffixes:

  Common Neuter noun plural article genitive English

Singular en et dreng     s boy's

  dreng   en s the boy's

Usage: as in English:     en bil (a car),     et hus (a house) dreng e ne s the boys'
Note:     1. The indefinite article is not used before a noun denoting a profession, nationality, religion:
                    han er læge     (he is a doctor)         hun er lærer         (she is a teacher) hus   et s of the house
                    jeg er dansker (I am a Dane)          du er amerikaner  (you are an american) hus e ne s of the houses
                2. The indefinite article is used before an adjective:
                    han er en god læge    (he is a good doctor)          måned er ne s of the months
hun er en dygtig lærer (she is a clever teacher)
                    jeg er en høj dansker (I am a tall Dane)  
                3. The indefinite article is used when a relative clause follows the noun: ADJECTIVES
                    han er en læge, som jeg kender           (he is a doctor whom I know) 1. Word Order: an attributive adjective is placed before the noun as in English (see also Articles): 
                    hun er en dansker, der bor i Tyskland (she is a Dane who lives in Germany)
                                en rød bil     (a red car) 
       
 
2. Definite Articles:
2. Inflection: A. Attributive adjectives must agree in gender with the noun they modify: 
  Common Neuter                         a. indef. article -. adjective + t - noun (t-word): 
Singular den, -n/-en det, -t/-et                             et stort hus     (a big house) 
                            et rødt tag      (a red roof) 
Plural de, -ne/-ene de, -ne/-ene                         b. indef. article -  adjective (base form) - noun (n-word): 
                              en stor mand  (a big man) 
                            en rød bog     (a red book) 
Note: a consonant is doubled after a short vowel: bus, bussen; hotel, hotellet 
                        c. def. article - adjective + e - noun (sing./plural):   
                            det store hus     (the big house)  NUMERALS
                            den røde bil      (the red car)  1. Cardinal Numbers  
                            de store huse    (the big houses)  Numbers from 1 to 20
                            de røde biler     the red cars) 
1 en, et [e'n], [et]   11 elleve [ælvæ]
 
                        B. Predicative adjectives must agree in gender with the noun they modify:  2 to [to']   12 tolv [tål']
                        a. indef. article  -  noun (t-word) - verb - adjective + t: 
3 tre [trai']   13 tretten [tradn]
                            et hus er stort    (a house is big) 
                            et tag er rødt     (a roof is red)  4 fire [fi·a]   14 fjorten [fioadn]
                        b. indef. article -  noun (n-word) - verb - adjective (base form): 
5 fem [fæm']   15 femten [fæmdn]
                            en bil er rød (a car is red) 
                            en mand er stor (a man is big)  6 seks [sæx]   16 seksten [saisdn]
                        c. noun (t-word)+ def.article -  verb - adjective + t: 
7 syv [süu']   17 sytten [sødn]
                            huset er stort     (the house is big) 
                            taget er rødt      (the roof is red)  8 otte [å·tæ]   18 atten [ädn]
                        d. noun (n-word)+ def.article -  verb - adjective (base form): 
                            bilen er rød         (the car is red)  9 ni [ni']   19 nitten [nedn]
                            manden er stor    (the man is big)  10 ti [ti']   20 tyve [tü·væ]
                        e. noun (plural) (+ def.article) -  verb - adjective + e:  
                            husene er store         (the houses are big) 
                            bilerne er røde          (the cars are red)  Se the Pronunciation Guide how to pronounce [ü], [æ], [ø], [å], [ö], ['] 
                            huse og biler er dyre (houses and cars are expensive)
  Numbers from 21 to 1000
                        C. Irregular:  21 enogtyve [e'nåtü·væ]   101 hundrede og en [hunað å e'n]
                            lille  (small/little, singular): 
                            the same in all forms in singular:  22 toogtyve [to'åtü·væ]   102 hundrede og to [hunað å to']
                                et/det lille hus      (a/the small house) 
                                en/den lille bil      (a/the small car)  23 treogtyve [trai'åtü·væ]   200 to hundrede  
                            små (small/little, plural): 
30 tredive [traðvæ]   300 tre hundrede  
                            the same in all forms in plural: 
                                små huse          (small houses) 40 fyrre [fö·a]   400 fire hundrede  
                                de små huse     (the small houses) 
                                de små biler     (the small cars)  50 halvtreds [hältræs]   500 fem hundrede  
Note:  1. If -e is added to an adjective ending in -en or -el the first -e- dissapears: 
                gammel (old):  60 tres [træs]   600 seks hundrede  
                    han er gammel             (he is old) 
                    den gamle mand          (the old man)  70 halvfjerds [halfiærs]   700 syv hundrede  
                    de er gamle                 (they are old) 
80 firs [fi'as]   800 otte hundrede  
                sulten (hungry): 
                    han er sulten                 (he is hungry)  90 halvfems [halfæm's]   900 ni hundrede  
                    det sultne barn              (the hungry child) 
                    de er sultne                   (they are hungry)  100 hundrede [hunað]   1000 tusind(e) [tusn]
            2. Adjectives ending in -e never change: 
The year 1998 is written: 
                et lille barn                         (a small child) 
nitten hundrede otteoghalvfems
                det stille barn                     (the quiet child) 
The year 2001 is written:
            3. Adjectives ending in -sk never add -t: 
to tusind(e) og et
                en rask dreng                     (a healthy boy) 
2. Ordinal Numbers
                et rask barn                        (a healthy child) 
                de raske børn                     (the healthy children)  1st første [föastæ]
            4. An adjective can also be used as a noun (without a supporting word):  2nd anden [än·n]
                en hvid hest og 2 sorte (a white horse and 2 black ones) 
  3rd tredie [træðæ]
3. Comparison: a. Regular forms add -ere, -est to the adjective:  4th fjerde [fiæ·a]
                                      comparative:   -ere:    varm/varmere     (warm/warmer) 
                                      superlative:     -est:     varm/varmest      (warm/warmest)  5th femte [fæmdæ]
                              b. Regular forms with mere, mest are used as in English: 
6th sjette [siæ·dæ]
                                      comparative:  mere:     han er mere mere venlig     (he is more kind) 
                                      superlative:     mest:     han er den mest venlige     (he is the most kind)  7th syvende [süu'næ]
                              c. Irregular forms with less irregularities: 
8th ottende [ådnæ]
                                      lang/længere/længst    (long/longer/longest) 
                                      stor/større/størst         (big/bigger/biggest)  9th niende [ni'næ]
                              d. Quite irregular forms: 
10th tiende [ti'næ]
                                      lille - mindre - mindst (small/smaller/smallest) 
                                      god - bedre - bedst     (good/better/best) 
Usage: The superlative is used in Danish when 2 things are compared:  PRONOUNS
            kaffe eller te, hvad kan du bedst lide? (coffee or the, which do you like better?)
  1. Personal Pronouns
  persons subject forms   object forms              denne bil er rød     (this car is red)        written form
1. sing jeg (I) mig (me)            den her bil er rød   (this car is red)        spoken form 
           den bil her er rød   (this car is red)        spoken form
2. sing du (you) dig (you)
           dette hus er stort   (this house is big)      written form
3. sing han (he) ham (him)            det her hus er stort (this house is big)     spoken form
3. sing hun (she) hende (her)            det hus her er stort (this house is big)     spoken form
3. sing den/det (it) den/det (it)            disse huse               (these houses)         writen form
3. sing De (you, polite) Dem (you, polite)            de her huse             (these houses)         spoken form
1. pl. vi (we) os (us)            de huse her             (these houses)         spoken form
       
2. pl. I (you) jer (you)
           but:  de huse der over er mine (those houses over there are mine)
3. sing de (they) dem (them)
         
3. sing De (you, polite) Dem (you, polite) 4. Relative Pronouns
                         
       som (who/which/that) can be both subject and object:
Usage: The object forms are used both as direct and indirect objects.                             manden som er her  (the man who is here) som/who is the subject
           The personal pronouns are used as in English:                             manden som jeg så  (the man who I saw)   som/who is the object
                  jeg giver dig et æble (I give you an apple)
       der (who/which/that) can only be subject:
                  han ser hende (he sees her)                             manden der er her   (the man who is here)  der/who is the subject
                  jeg giver det til hende (I give it to her)                                   *manden der jeg så (the man who I saw)    der/who is the object, and the sentence is wrong
           Indirect object precedes the direct object:
                   jeg giver hende det    (I give it her)          Usage: som/der are the 2 most used pronouns in Danish and they are used mostly as in English.
              or: jeg giver det til hende (I give it to her)                             But when a preposition is used together with a relative pronoun 
           the preposition is placed at the end of the sentence:
 
           manden som jeg gav bogen til (the man to whom  I gave the book)
2. Possessive Pronouns
         
            min/mit/mine  (my, mine)           The relative pronoun can be omitted as in English:
            din/dit/dine    (your, yours)           her er pigen, (som) jeg elsker
            hans              (his)           here is the girl (that) I love 
            hendes          (her, hers)
            Deres           (your, yours, polite)
5. Indefinite Pronouns         
            dens/dets      (its)
            vores            (our, ours)        nogle (some) pronounced (no·n):
            jeres             (your, yours)                     jeg har nogle venner (I have some friends)
            deres            (their, theirs)
            Deres           (your, yours, polite)        nogen (any)  pronounced (no·n):
                    har du nogen venner? (do you have any friends?)
 Usage: All the forms are used both attributively and predicatively:
       noget (something) pronounced (nå·t):
            min bil er her   (my car is here)                     han må gøre noget     (he must do something)
            det er mit hus   (it is my house)
            det er mine biler/houses (they are my cars/houses)                 ingen, ikke nogen (no, nobody):
           det er min (bilen) (it is mine (the car))                     han har ingen venner          (he has no friends) 
           det er mit (huset) (is is mine (the house))                     han har ikke nogen venner (he has no friends)
                    jeg kender ingen her          (I do not know anybody here)
           det er mine (biler/huse) (they are mine (cars/houses))
                    jeg kender ikke nogen hen (I know nobody here)
         
3. Demonstrative Pronouns        intet, ikke noget (no, nothing):
                      der er intet at gøre           (there is nothing to do)
  written forms spoken forms english                     der er ikke noget at gøre  (there is nothing to do)
sing. denne/dette den her, det her this
       enhver (everybody):
sing. den/det den der, det der that                     enhver må gøre noget (everybody must do something)
pl. disse de her these
pl. de der (over) de der (over) those (over there)        alle (all (persons)):
                    jeg så dem alle (I saw them all)
neuter det det it
       alt  (all (neuter)):
       Usage: The written forms can also be used in speech, but in daily speech                      det var alt (that was all)
           we normally use the spoken forms.
         man (one, you, we) is not found in English and can only be used as subject,
                    it is the same as on in French and man in German:
           Note: The spoken forms consist of 2 words, which can be placed both before the noun
                     or the noun can be placed between the 2 words:
                    man må ikke ryge her (you must not smoke here/smoking not allowed)
              b. In a dictionary verbs are found in the infinitive form.
                    man is often used in stead of the passive voice:              c. The infinitive ends normally in -e
                    man må ikke ryge (=der må ikke ryges) (smoking is not allowed)                                     but words consisting of one syllable and ending with an unstressed vowel
 
                 do not add -e.
6. Reflexive Pronouns         
            d. If the infinitive does not end in -e
           1. sing.   mig   (myself)
                then the infinitive and the base form are the same: bo (live), gå (go), se (see)           
           2. sing.   dig    (yourself)
            e. Base form (or stem) is infinitive without -e:
           3. sing.   sig    (himself/herself/itself)
                syng (=synge minus -e) (sing).
           1. pl.      os     (ourselves)
           
           2. pl.      jer    (yourselves)
1. Present Tense        
           3. pl.      sig    (themselves)
       is formed by adding -r to the infinitive in all persons:
         
Usage: Subject and object is the same person:
       infinitive: synge + -r = synger (sing/sings)
           jeg vasker mig   (I wash myself)
                    jeg/du/han/vi/I/de synger    (I/you/he/we/they sing/sings)
           han vasker sig   (he washes himself)                               sig is a reflexive pronoun
       infinitive: bo, stå + -r = bor, står (live/lives, stand/stands)     
          but: han vasker ham (he washes him (another person))  him is a personal prounoun
   
         
Usage: The present tense is used as in English, but it is also used as the future tense: 
          Reflexive verbs in Danish are not always reflexive in English:
            jeg kommer i morgen (I shall come tomorrow)         
         de giftede sig i kirken (they got married in the church) 
         vi satte os ned           (we sat down)
          The progressive form (-ing form) in English
         jeg vendte mig om     (I turned round)
          can in Danish be expressed in different ways, eg.:
           
7. Interrogative Pronouns and Adverbs
          a. present tense: han læser (he is reading)
         
          b. periphrastic construction with: 
       hvem (who,whom): hvem er det?        (who is is?)   
              sidder/står/ligger og + present tense:
       hvis   (whose):        hvis hund er dette (whose dog is this?)
                    han sidder og læser (he is reading)
       hvad (what):           hvad er dette?      (what is this?)
          c. periphrastic construction with: 
                                     hvad er der sket?  (what has happened?)
              er ved at + infinitive:
                    han er ved at læse (he is reading)
       hvilken/hvilket/hvilke (which): 
         
                        hvilken bog tog han? (which book did he take?)
 2. Past Tense         
                        hvilke bøger tog han? (which books did he take?)
       there are 2 regular conjugations  (see also Present perfect):
         
       hvor (where):      hvor bor han? (where does he live?)
       a. Regular conjugation, group I  (the biggest group):
       hvornår (when):  hvornår kommer han? (when will he come?)
          Base form + -ede  (the same in all persons):
       hvordan (how):   hvordan er det sket? (how did it happen)
                    husk, lav = huskede (remembered), lavede (made)
  
                    bo, vask  = boede (lived), vaskede (washed)         
       hvor længe, hvor lang tid (how long time): 
       b. Regular conjugation, group II:
                                  hvor længe har han været her?  
          Base form + -te   (the same in all persons):
                                  (how long time has he been here?)
                    læs, spis = læste (read), spiste (ate)
The same pronouns can also be used in interrogative subordinate clauses
                    køb, vis  = købte (bought), viste (showed)         
        jeg ved ikke, hvem han er                (I do not know who he is)
       c. Irregular conjugation:
        jeg ved ikke, hvis hund det er           (I do not know whose dog it is)
        han ved ikke, hvad de hedder           (I do not know what he is called)                     var (was/were), så (saw), gik (went), 
        jeg ved ikke, hvilke bøger han tog     (I do not know what/which books he took)                     sagde (pronounced (sä·) (said),    
        jeg ved ikke, hvor han bor                (I do not know where he lives)       
Usage: The past tense is used as in English.
Note:     These pronouns cannot be the subject in a subordinate clause,  der or det must be added:          
                    a. det + a form of  "være/blive/hedde"
           The progressive form (-ing form) in English
                    b. der + another verb
                            a. jeg ved ikke, hvem det er            (I do not know who it is)            can in Danish be expressed in different ways, eg.:
                            b. jeg ved ikke, hvem der kommer  (I do not know who is coming)
                            a1. jeg ved ikke, hvad det er/var      (I do not know what it is/was)           a. past tense: han læste (he was reading)
                            a2. jeg ved ikke, hvad det bliver       (I do not know what the price will be)           b. periphrastic construction with: 
                            b1. jeg ved ikke, hvad der er sket                  sad/stod/lå og + present tense:
(I do not know what has happened (the verb is "sker"))                        han sad og læste (he was reading)
            b2. jeg kan ikke høre, hvad der siges 
          c. periphrastic construction with: 
(passive voice (I cannot hear what they are saying))
              var ved at + infinitive:
VERBS                        han var ved at læse (he was reading)
                           
General: a. Verbs are not conjugated in persons only in tenses.             3. Present Perfect 
         is formed with har or er before the past participle (see past participle):                        
                        jeg har købt et hus (I have bought a house) at se see ser så har set
                        jeg er gået i seng    (I have gone to bed)        
at sidde is sitting sidder sad har siddet
               
at sige say siger sagde har sagt
Usage: The present tense is used with har or er and they are
            the same in all persons. at skrive write skriver skrev har skrevet
at skulle*** should skal skulle har skullet
            "har" is normally used: han har spist (he has eaten)          at sove sleep sover sov har sovet
            "er" is used if a movement has taken place: at spørge ask spørger spurgte har spurgt
                               han er gået                     (he has gone (away))
at stå stand står  stod har stået
                        but: han har gået hele dagen  (he has been walking the whole day)
at sælge sell sælger solgte har solgt
             and in the passive voice: maden er blevet spist (the food has been eaten)
          at sætte put, sit down sætter satte har sat
 4. Past perfect at tage take tager tog har taget
         is formed with havde or var before the past participle (see past participle): at vide know ved vidste har vidst
                       at ville*** would vil ville har villet
                        jeg havde købt et hus (I had bought a house) at være** be er var har været
                        jeg var gået i sent       (I had gone to bed)
Usage: as Present Perfect.                     AUXILIARY VERBS
         
5. Future tense          The auxiliary and modal verbs kunne/skulle/ville/måtte are connected to
          is formed with skal/vil before the infinitive          the infinitive without "at" (as in English):
          or simply by using the present tense:                          jeg kan tale dansk (I can speak Danish)
                         du må gerne komme ind (you may come in)
                        jeg skal rejse i morgen (I shall go tomorrow)                          han ville ikke gøre det (he did not want to do so)
                        jeg vil rejse i morgen    (I shall go tomorrow)          
                        jeg rejser i morgen       (I shall go tomorrow)          The pronunciation of the auxiliary verbs is a little special, the
                   last consonant is normally not pronounced:
IRREGULAR VERBS         
          They are the same in all persons:                  han kan (pronounced [kä]) komme     (he can come)
                          han vil (pronounced [ve])  komme      (he will come)
                       jeg/du/han/hun/vi/I/de bliver                  han skal (pronounced [sgä]) komme   (he shall come)
                       jeg/du/han/hun/vi/I/de blev                  han skulle (pronounced [sgu]) komme (he should come)
                       jeg/du/han/hun/vi/I/de er blevet          
 PARTICIPLES
         Verbs with *    are  modal verbs
         Verbs with **   are auxiliary verbs 1. Past participle
         Verbs with ***  are modal and auxiliary verbs          There are 2 regular conjugations of the past participle:
                   
    Here are the most common irregular verbs:          a. Regular conjugation, group I  (the biggest group):
Infinitive English Present tense Past tense Present perfect              Base form + -et (the same in all persons):
at blive** become bliver blev er blevet                       husk, lav = husket (remembered), lavet (made)
at drikke drink drikker drak har drukket                       bo, vask  = boet (lived), vasket (washed)
         
at dø die dør døde er død
         b. Regular conjugation, group II:
at få** get får fik har fået
             Base form + -t (the same in all persons):
at give give giver gav har givet                       læs, spis = læst (read), spist (eaten)
at gøre do gør gjorde har gjort                       køb, vis  = købt (bought), vist (showed)
at gå go går gik er/har gået
at have** have har havde har haft Usage: It is used to form the compound tenses (present perfect and past perfect):
                      jeg har/havde købt en ny bil (I have/had bought a new car)
at komme come kommer kom er kommet
         
at kunne* could kan kunne har kunnet
        The past participle can also be used as an adjective (and is inflected (see adjectives)): 
at lade let lader lod har ladet                       den spiste kage (the eaten cake)
at le laugh ler lo har leet                       en spist kage (an eaten cake)
at ligge lie down ligger lå  har ligget          
at lægge lay lægger lagde har lagt         The past participle has a passive signification:
at løbe run løber løb har løbet                       den spiste kage (= the cake that has been eaten)

at måtte* may, must må måtte har måttet

         
2. Present participle
            The present participle is formed by adding  -ende to the base form: 
            smilende (smil + -ende), gående (gå + -ende).
Usage:  It can be used like the English -ing form only after kommer/kom, blive/blev: 
                       han kom gående (he came walking)
                       hun blev stående (she kept standing)
Notice:  The English -ing form (progressive form) is constructed in another way in Danish:
                       the girl is smiling = pigen smiler, pigen sidder/står/ligger og smiler
                       (subject (the girl) + verbal (is smiling))
Notice:          pigen er smilende = the girl is a smiling girl
                       (subject (pigen) + verb (er) + subject complement (smilende))  2. blive-passive:
              The present participle can also be used as an adjective              The present tense: bliver + past participle:
              but it is not inflected: 
                      den smilende pige (the smiling girl) 
                      en smilende pige (a smiling girl)
                      et/det smilende barn (a/the smiling child) 
                      de smilende børn (the smiling children)
              The past participle has an active signification:   ADVERBS
                      den smilende pige (the girl that is smiling) 
INFINITIVE                      a. a verb:             hun synger smukt (she sings beautifully)
       Infinitive is the form that is found in a dictionary and ends normally in -e.
       If infinitive does not end in -e then the infinitive and the base form are the same:
                       bo  (live, lives)
                       gå  (go, goes)
                       stå (stand, stands)                     b. true adverbs (can not be changed):  ikke/aldrig/kun (not/never/only)
1. Infinitive without "at":
        a. together with auxiliary verbs:
                         jeg kan komme i morgen    (I can come tomorrow) 
                         jeg kan ikke komme          (I cannot come)
        
        b. accusative-infinitive after verbs of sensing:
                         jeg så ham komme            (I saw him come)
2. Infinitive together with "at":
        a. after a preposition:    han kom for at besøge mig (he came to see me)
        b. subject:                   at rejse er dyrt (travelling is expensive)
        c. predicate:                hans mål var at rejse (his goal was to travel)
        d. object:                     han ønskede at komme (he wanted to come)
SUBJUNCTIVE
        
            The subjunctive is not used in modern Danish but is stil used
            in some old sayings:
                 Gud velsigne Danmark  (God bless Denmark)
                 Gud være med dig         (God be with thou) 
         
PASSIVE VOICE
               
 General: The passive voice is formed in 2 ways. 
              Sometimes you may decide for yourself which one you want to use, 
              other times there is a sligh difference between the 2 forms and again 
              other times you can only use one of them.
1. s-passive:
         
            The present tense has -s (instead of -r in active form): sælges (active: sælger)
                               bogen sælges (the book is sold)
            The past tense adds -s to the active form: solgtes (active: solgte)
                               bogen solgtes (the book was sold)                   
                              bogen bliver solgt (the book is sold)
            The past tense: blev + past participle: 
  
                              bogen blev solgt (the book was sold))
 
General: Adverbs can qualify different words:
             b. an adjective:     han er meget stor (he is very big)
             c. another adverb:  hun synger ganske smukt (she sings quite beautifully)
             d. a sentence:      selvfølgelig ville han komme (of course he would come)         
Types:    There are more types of adverbs:
         
             a. adverbs made of an adjective + t:    smuk/smukt (beautiful/beautifully)
             c. prepositions without a regimen:        han tog hatten på (he took his hat on)
Comparison:  
              Some adverbs can be compared (irregular comparion):
              base form     comparative      superlative
              ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
              godt            bedre             bedst (well/better/best)
              længe          længere          længst (long time/longer/longest)
              gerne           hellere              helst  (are not found in English)
              jeg vil gerne komme (I should like to come)
Two-form adverbs: 
         
          Adverbs describing a direction have long and short forms:
                 ind/inde (in), ud/ude (out), op/oppe (up), ned/nede (down)
         
          1. Short forms describe a movement from one place to another:
                 han går ind i haven      (he goes into the garden)
                                                   (German: er geht in den Garden)
                 han kravler op i træet (he climbs up into the tree)
                                                  (er klettert auf den Baum)
                    
          2. Long forms describe a movement within the same place:
                 han går inde i haven   (he walks inside the garden)
                                                  (German: er geht im Garden)
                 han er oppe i træet    (he is up on the tree)
                                                  (German: er ist im Baum)
   PREPOSITIONS
General:   Prepositions are always used with a regimen (noun, pronoun or infinitive).
                If they have no regimen (standing alone) they are adverbs:
                 han tog hatten på hovedet     (he put his hat on his head):  preposition
                 han tog hatten på                  (he put his hat on):               adverb                      med (with)
            i (in/at/to/for)
              a. place (town, country, street):
                 han bor i København/Danmark (he lives in Copenhagen/Denmark)
                 de bor i Nørregade                  (they live at North Street)
                 han går i skole                         (he goes to school)   
                 jeg går i seng nu                       (I go to bed now)                           han gik over gaden                  (he crossed the street)
              b. time (clock, how long time?)
                 den er 10 minutter i 5              (it's ten to five)
                 jeg har boet her i 2 år              (I have lived here for 2 years) how long time?
         
              c. special expressions:
                 han lukkede døren (i):              (he closed the door)
                 jeg underviser i dansk:             (I teach Danish)
                 hun er forelsket i ham:              (she is in love with him)
         
            på (on/upon/in/at/of)
              a. place (island, road):
                 de bor på Sjælland                (they live in Seeland)
                 han bor på Nyvej                  (he lives at New Road)
                 jeg bor på landet                   (I live in the country (not town))
                 bogen er på bordet                  (the book is on the table)
              b. time (day, how fast?):
                 jeg rejser på mandag            (I shall leave on Monday)
                 han gjorde det på en time     (he did it in one hour (how fast?)) how fast?
              c. genitive:
                 farven på bilen (=bilens farve) (the colour of the car)
         
            til (to/until)
         
              a. place:
                 jeg rejser til Danmark          (I shall go to Denmark)
         
              b. time:
                 banken er åben til kl. 17      (the bank is open until 5 PM)
         
              c. dative:
                 jeg giver bogen til ham        (I am giving the book to him)
                 (= jeg giver ham bogen        (I am giving him the book))          FORMAL SUBJECTS
         
            af (of/by)
                 ringen er lavet af guld         (the ring is made of gold)
                 ringen er lavet af manden   (the ring is made by the man)  passive voice
            efter (after)
            for....siden (ago)
                 han kom for en time siden  (he came an hour ago)
            fra (from)
            om, rundt om (round/in, when?)
                 hun har en halskæde om halsen (she has a necklace round her neck)
                 jeg kommer om en time            (I shall come in an hour) when?
            over (over/past/cross)
                 den er 10 minutter over 4        (it's 10 minutes past 4)
            under (under/below/during)
                 hunden ligger under bordet           (the dog is under the table)
                 temperaturen er under 0 grader      (the temperature is below 0 degrees)
                 han var her under krigen              (he was here during the war)         
CONJUNCTIONS
Conjunctions connect words, elements and clauses.
         
        1. Co-ordinating Conjunctions:  og/eller/men (and/or/but)
              drengen og pigen  (the boy and the girl)
        2. Subordinating Conjunctions:
           are always the first word in a subordinate clause:
             
           at (that)
              han sagde, at han var syg  (he said that he was ill)
           om (if/whether)
              jeg ved ikke, om han kommer  (I don't know if he will come)
         
           når (when)
              present tense:                han kommer, når han kan      (he comes when he can)
              future tense:                  jeg går, når det er tiden         (I shall go when it's time)
              past tense (every time): han spiste, når han var sulten (he always ate when he was hungry)
         
           da (when)
              past tense (once):          han spiste, da han var sulten 
(he ate when/because he was hungry) 
                  
IMPERATIVE                                 
             The imperative is always the base form of a verb:
             gå din vej!     (go away!)
             gå jeres vej!      (go away!)
             spis din mad! (eat your food!)
             sov godt!       (sleep well!)
         
                                       
        The first subject (det/der) in a clause always refers to the real subject 
         
        1. "det" (it):          
        2. Inversion (verb + subject or finite verb + subject + infinite verb) 
           a. When the real subject is an infinitive/phrase:             only occurs in main clauses 
                   det er godt at være her (it is good to be here)
Main rule: If the subject is not the first word in a main clause, 
           b. When the real subject is a subordinate clause:                   there will be an inversion 
                   det er godt, at han kan gøre det (it is good that he can do so)          
           c. As an impersonal subject:            a. In questions:
                det regner/sner/blæser (it is raining/snowing/windy)               kommer du i morgen? (will you come tomorrow?)
           d. when the complement is a noun, or possessive pronoun in plural::          
                det er mine venner (they are my friends)            b. If an adverb/phrase, object or conjunction claus precedes the subject:
                det er også dine     (they are also yours)          
                but: de er store      (they are big) (the complement is an adjective)                an adverb precedes the subject: 
           e. The personal pronoun can also be used if the complement is a  noun in singular:                nu kommer jeg     (now I am coming) 
                det/han er min ven (it/he is my friend)                 but: jeg kommer nu (now I am coming) adverb after subject
                   
        2. "der" (there):               an adverb phrase precedes the subject:
              i morges stod jeg tidligt op (this morning I got up early)
           a. When referring to an adverbial (as in English):          
                   der er 2 drenge her i huset (there are 2 boys in this house)               an object (for emphasising) precedes the subject:
           b. When referring to an infinite amount (as in English):               drengen kender jeg ikke     (I don't know the boy)
                   der er mange folk her (there are many people here)               but:  jeg kender ikke drengen  (I don't know the boy)      
           c. As a subject in a passive clause:          
                   der sås mange folk på gaden (many people were seen in the street)               if a subordinate clause comes before the main clause:          
                   (=man så mange folk på gaden)               hvis jeg havde penge, ville jeg købe en bil (if I had money, I would buy a car)
           d. expresions concerning distance (English "it"):               (jeg ville købe en bil, hvis jeg havde penge)
                   der er langt til America (it is a long way to America)                        
                         POSITION OF SMALL ADVERBS
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS        
       Small adverbs are:
        ikke, aldrig, altid, kun, snart, gerne     
Yes = ja/jo.
        (not, never, always, only, soon, "should like")        
 
When you ask with a negative question, the positive answer is "jo"
        A. The position of the small adverbs in subordinate clauses is always after the subject  
Qustions Positive answers Negative answers            SAV (subject+adverb+finite verb): 
kender du ham? ja, jeg gør nej, jeg gør ikke            han siger, at han ikke kommer (he says that he does not come)
(do you know him?) (yes, I do) (no, I don't)                                S      A      V
         
kender du ham ikke? jo, jeg gør nej, jeg gør ikke            han siger, at han ikke vil komme (he says that he will not come)
(don't you know him?) (yes, I do) (no, I don't)                                S     A    V
         
du kender ham ikke? jo, jeg gør nej, jeg gør ikke            han har en bog, som han aldrig har læst (he has a book that he has never read)
(you know him, don't you?) (yes, I do) (no, I don't)                                              S     A      V 
         
Note:   The finite verb can be repeated in the answer if it is a modal verb or an auxiliary verb         B. Position of small adverbs in main clauses is  
(have/be),          
               otherwise the answer is followed by a form of "gøre" as in English:            1. Normal word order (the adverb is after the finite verb): 
              SVA (subject+verb+adverb) or
            kender du ham?                 ja, jeg gør      (do you know him?  yes, I do)               S V1 A V2 object(subject+finite+adverb+infinte verb+object) 
            kendte du ham?                  ja,  jeg gjorde (did you know him? yes, I did)   
            kan du kende ham?             ja, jeg kan     (can you recognize him? yes, I can)                a. if there is no object
            har du kendt ham?              ja, jeg har      (have you known him? yes, I have)                   or the object is a substantive (phrase) 
            har du kunnet kende ham?  ja, jeg har        (have you been able to recognize him? yes, I                   or the verb consists of 2 words: 
have)               
            vil du kunne kende ham?      ja, jeg vil       (vil you be able to recognize him? yes, I will)                   han kommer ikke (he does not come)                           (no object)
               
WORD ORDER                   jeg  kender ikke manden (I do not know the man)        (the object is a noun)
                                               S       V        A
        1. Normal Word Order (subject + verb) 
                            jeg har ikke kendt manden (I have not known the man) (the verb is 2 words: har--kendt)
           a. In a main clause beginning with the subject:                   jeg har ikke kendt ham    (I have not known him)          (the verb is  2 words: har--kendt)
              jeg kan se en bil på gaden (I can see a car in the street)                    S   V1   A    V2
           b. In a main clause beginning with a conjuncion og/men:
             men jeg kan ikke se ham (but I cannot see him)                       b. One important exception: 
           c. Always in subordinate clauses:                   if   the object(s) are pronouns  
              jeg vidste, at han ville komme (I knew that he would come)                        and the verb is only 1 word  
                            then the adverb is placed after the object pronoun (S V object(s) A): 
         
                  jeg kender ham ikke       (I do not know him) Adverb
                   S     V        O     A Small Finite Infinite Object
No. Conjuncion Subject or
                  jeg giver ham den ikke     (I do not give it to him) adverb Verb Verb Predicat.
Phrase
                   S    V     Oi    Od  A
                  jeg giver ham ikke bogen (I do not give him the book) 1 at han ikke kan komme   idag
                   S    V      Oi     A     Od
2 som jeg aldrig har set   før
           2. Inversion:  3 der   ikke er gået   endnu
              VSA (verb+subject+adverb) or
              V1 S A V2(finite verb+subject+adverb+infinite verb)  4 om hun   kender   ham mere
          5 hvis jeg ikke møder   hende igen
              i morgen kommer jeg ikke (tomorrow I shall not come)
                                V        S   A  6 hvornår jeg   ser   dig igen
                           
              i morgen vil jeg ikke komme (tomorrow I shall not come) 1. ...at han ikke kan komme idag (...that he cannot come today)
                           V1   S   A     V2 2. ...som jeg aldrig har set før (...who I have never seen before)
3. ...der ikke er gået endnu (...who has not gone yet)
              i Kolding har jeg aldrig været (I have never been in Kolding) 4. ...om hun kender ham mere (...whether she knows him anymore)
                             V1   S    A      V2 5. ...hvis jeg ikke møder hende igen (...if I do not meet her again)
                   6. ...hvorår jeg ser dig igen (...when I shall see you again)
CONSTRUCTION OF SENTENCES

MAIN CLAUSES
Subject
Adver
Object
Small Infinit Object b
No Conjunci Predicative Finite Subje
adver e Predica or
. on Adv.phrase Verb ct
b Verb t. Phras
Interrog.w
e
ord
1   jeg kender       ham ikke
2 men jeg kender   ikke   manden i huset
i lang
3   jeg har   ikke set ham
tid
4   ham har jeg aldrig set   her
5 og stor er han også blevet    
komm
6   i dag hun       kl. 5
er
med
komm
7     hun ikke     bussen
er
?
hvis hun
8     bliver jeg   glad  
kommer
i
9   hvem   er pigen    
huset?
10   hvor   har du været   henne?
                 
1. jeg kender ham ikke (I do not know him)
2. men jeg kender ikke manden i huset (but I do not know the man in the house)
3. jeg har ikke set ham i lang tid (I have not seen him for a long time)
4. ham har jeg aldrig set (I have never seen him)
5. og stor er han også blevet (and he has also grown tall)
6. i dag kommer hun kl. 5 (today she will come at 5 o'clock)
7. kommer hun ikke med bussen? (does she not come by bus?)
8. hvis hun kommer, bliver jeg glad (if she comes I shall be glad) 
9. hvem er pigen i huset? (who is the girl in the house?)
10. hvor har du været henne (where have you been?)

SUBORDINATE CLAUSES