Danish 13

Grammar Summary

0. Word Order — The Most Important Rule in Danish

Main Clause (hovedsætning) — The V2 Rule

The finite verb (conjugated verb) is always in position 2 (V2), no matter what comes first.

If anything other than the subject starts the sentence (adverb, time phrase, subordinate clause), the subject and verb swap — this is called inversion:

Exam tip: Connectors that trigger inversion: derfor, så, alligevel, heldigvis, nemlig, fx, nu, i dag, den dag — any fronted element that is not the subject.

Main Clause — Full Slot Order

Key rule for slot 4: “ikke” comes after the finite verb but before the infinitive in main clauses.

• Han bruger ikke mange penge. ✓ (ikke after finite verb “bruger”)
• Han har ikke valgt et fritidsjob. ✓ (ikke after “har”, before participle “valgt”)

Subordinate Clause (bisætning) — Adverb Shifts Left

After conjunctions (at, fordi, selvom, når, hvor, som, mens, fordi, om…):

The golden rule: In a subordinate clause, sentence adverbs (ikke, altid, aldrig, gerne, hellere, nok, godt, vist…) come BEFORE the finite verb — the opposite of main clauses.

Conjunctions That Introduce Subordinate Clauses

1. Adjectives & Adverbs

Adjective Agreement

Key adjectives from this passage:

Exam tip: “det er + adj.” always uses the -t (neuter) form regardless of what the actual noun is: det er svært, dyrt, sjovt, billigt

Key Adverbs from This Passage

2. Verbs — Forms & Tenses

Infinitive with “at”

• at leve for (to live on), at koncentrere sig om, at uddanne sig til, at spare på

After modals — no “at”:

• han kan rigtig godt lide kød, han vil hellere koncentrere sig, han skal rundt

Present Tense — stem + -r

Past Tense & Perfect

har valgt = has chosen — perfect with har → result of a decision still relevant now.

Reflexive Verbs (with sig)

3. Modal Verbs

Key expressions from this passage:

Exam tip: kan godt lide = to like (something). Negation: kan ikke godt lide or synes ikke om. Word order in subordinate clause: …at han ikke kan lide kød.

4. Prepositions

Core Prepositions from This Passage

Fixed Prepositional Phrases (Must-Know)

Når man tager en uddannelse i Danmark, kan man få ca. 6.000 kr. om måneden i SU. Selvom det ikke er ret mange penge, er det faktisk nok til at leve for.

ret = right

faktisk = actually

nok = enough

at leve for = to live on

When you take an education in Denmark, you can get about 6,000 kr. per month in SU. Although it’s not a lot of money, it’s actually enough to live on.

Kasper er 20 år og bor i Aalborg, hvor han er i gang med at uddanne sig til maskinmester. Mange af hans klassekammerater har et fritidsjob, fordi de gerne vil tjene lidt ekstra. Men det har Kasper ikke, for han har valgt, at han hellere vil koncentrere sig om sin uddannelse.

i gang med = in the process of

har valgt = has chosen

hellere = rather

Kasper is 20 years old and lives in Aalborg, where he is in the process of training to become a marine engineer. Many of his classmates have a part-time job because they want to earn a little extra. But Kasper doesn’t, because he has chosen that he would rather concentrate on his education.

Så Kasper har kun ca. 6000 kr. om måneden at leve for, men det har han det helt fint med, for han synes faktisk ikke, det er så svært at leve billigt.

svært = difficult

billigt = cheaply

So Kasper only has about 6000 kr. per month to live on, but he’s completely fine with that, because he actually doesn’t think it’s so difficult to live cheaply.

Han bruger fx ikke så mange penge på husleje og transport, for han bor til leje på et værelse, hvor huslejen heldigvis ikke er ret høj. Og når han skal rundt i Aalborg, cykler han næsten altid. På den måde får han nemlig både gratis motion og gratis transport.

heldigvis = fortunately

ikke ret høj = not very high

skal rundt = has to get around

He doesn’t spend a lot of money on rent and transportation, for example, because he rents a room where the rent is fortunately not very high. And when he has to get around in Aalborg, he almost always bikes. That way he gets both free exercise and free transportation.

Kasper er også god til at spare penge på mad. Han laver det meste af sin mad selv, og han køber altid de madvarer, han skal bruge i det supermarked, hvor prisen er bedst. Kasper kan rigtig godt lide kød, men han synes, det er for dyrt, så han køber det sjældent.

god til = good at

madvarer = groceries

rigtig godt lide = really like

dyrt = expensive

sjældent = rarely

• pronounced “she-lent”

Kasper is also good at saving money on food. He makes most of his food himself, and he always buys the groceries he needs in the supermarket where the price is best. Kasper really likes meat, but he thinks it’s too expensive, so he rarely buys it.

Derfor laver han mest retter med grøntsager, og han er rigtig god til det. Han synes faktisk også, det er ret sjovt at lave vegetarmad, men han savner alligevel somme tider at spise kød. Det ved hans mor heldigvis godt, og derfor inviterer hun ham tit på besøg. Det nyder Kasper, for når han kommer hjem til hende, steger hun altid en god bøf til ham.

retter = dishes

grøntsager = vegetables

savner = miss

alligevel = nevertheless

somme tider = sometimes

nyder = enjoys

steger = fries

Therefore, he mostly makes dishes with vegetables, and he is really good at it. He actually also thinks it’s quite fun to make vegetarian food, but he nevertheless sometimes misses eating meat. Fortunately, his mother knows this, and therefore she often invites him to visit. Kasper enjoys it, because when he comes home to her, she always fries a good steak for him.