Language/Danish/Grammar/Present-Tense

How to Use the Present Tense in Danish

One of the fundamental aspects of learning a new language is understanding its grammar rules. In Danish, the present tense is used to describe actions happening now or habitual actions. This lesson will provide you with an overview of the Danish present tense, its formation, and examples of its usage.

• Upon finishing this course material, you may want to delve into these connected themes: Danish Grammar → Introduction to Danish Alphabet and ..., Conditional Mood, Comparatives and Superlatives & Regular Verbs.

In Danish, the conjugation of verbs is the same across all pronouns. The infinitive verbs always end in -e, and are always preceded by the phrase "at". For example: "at gå", meaning "to go" or "to walk". To form the present tense, you have to add -r to the verb, and replace the "at" with the correct pronoun depending on your subject.

Personal Pronouns

In Danish, there are several personal pronouns that are used to refer to different persons or groups.

Here are the personal pronouns in Danish with their English translations:

ENGLISH	DANISH
I	JEG
YOU	DU
HE	HAN
SHE	HUN
WE	VI
YOU (PLURAL)	I
THEY	DE

Regular Verbs

In Danish, regular verbs are divided into two groups based on their infinitive forms:

a. Group 1: Verbs ending in -e

To form the present tense of verbs in this group, simply add -r to the infinitive form of the verb.

Examples:

• at arbejde (to work) -> arbejder (working)
• at spise (to eat) -> spiser (eating)

b. Group 2: Verbs ending in a consonant

For verbs in this group, add -er to the infinitive form to create the present tense.

Examples:

• at skrive (to write) -> skriver (writing)
• at løbe (to run) -> løber (running)

Irregular Verbs

While Danish has many regular verbs, some verbs are irregular and follow different patterns in the present tense. Here are some common irregular verbs:

• at være (to be) -> er (am/are/is)
• at have (to have) -> har (have/has)

at gå (to go) -> går (go/going)

Using the example of "at gå" (to go):

ENGLISH	DANISH
I GO	JEG GÅR
YOU GO	DU GÅR
HE GOES	HAN GÅR
SHE GOES	HUN GÅR
WE GO	VI GÅR
YOU (PLURAL) GO	I GÅR
THEY GO	DE GÅR

• at se (to see) -> ser (see/seeing)

Examples of Present Tense Usage

a. Describing current actions:

• Han arbejder i køkkenet. (He is working in the kitchen.)
• Vi spiser morgenmad. (We are eating breakfast.)

b. Describing habitual actions:

• Hun løber hver dag. (She runs every day.)
• De ser fjernsyn om aftenen. (They watch television in the evening.)

Negation in the Present Tense

To form a negative sentence in the present tense, use the word "ikke" (not) after the verb.

Examples:

• Han arbejder ikke i dag. (He is not working today.)
• Vi spiser ikke kød. (We do not eat meat.)

Other Lessons

• The Genitive Case in Danish
• The Nominative Case in Danish
• Questions
• Adjectives
• Plurals
• The Accusative Case in Danish
• The Locative Case in Danish
• How to use “can” in Danish
• How to use “to be” with names and places