Language/Danish/Grammar/How-to-Use-Be

Danish Grammar - How to Use "Be"

Hi Danish learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about the Danish verb "be". The verb "be" is a very important verb in Danish because it is used to form present and past tenses.

Present Tense

In Danish, the present tense of "be" has two forms: "er" and "er blevet". "Er" is used in most cases and "er blevet" is used for emphasis or to describe a recent change.

Danish	Pronunciation	English
er	/æːɐ/	am/is/are
er blevet	/æːɐ ˈbleːðə/	have/has been

For example:

• Jeg er glad. (/jɑɪ ɛːʁ ɡlɑð/) (I am happy.)
• Det er blevet mørkt. (/dɛt æːɐ ˈbleːðə ˈmɶɐ̯ɡt/) (It has become dark.)

Past Tense

In Danish, the past tense of "be" has two forms: "var" and "var blevet". "Var" is used in most cases and "var blevet" is used to describe a change that occurred before a specific point in the past.

Danish	Pronunciation	English
var	/vɑː/	was/were
var blevet	/vɑː ˈbleːðə/	had been

For example:

• Jeg var glad. (/jɑɪ væː ɡlɑð/) (I was happy.)
• Han var allerede blevet syg, da jeg ringede til ham. (/hɑn væː ɑləˈɐðə ˈbleːðə syːɡ dɑ jæ rtɪŋədə tʰil hɑm/) (He had already become ill when I called him.)

Dialogue

Person 1: Hvordan er vejret i dag? (/ˈhvɒɐ̯ðən æɐ̯ ˈvaɪ̯ʁɛð i dɑj/) (How is the weather today?) Person 2: Det er blevet lidt køligere siden i går. (/dɛt æːɐ ˈbleːðə lið køːliʊ̯ə sɪdən i ˈɡɒɐ̯/) (It has become a bit cooler since yesterday.)

Tips

To improve your Danish Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Summary

In this lesson, we have learned the present and past tense of the Danish verb "be". Remember that "er" is used in most cases for present tense, and "var" is used in most cases for past tense. We have also learned that "er blevet" and "var blevet" are used to describe recent changes and a point in time before a specific event, respectively.

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