Verb-second (V2) in main clauses
Can apply V2 word order in Danish main clauses
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
I dag spiser vi frokost klokken tolv.
Today we eat lunch at twelve o'clock.
Hver morgen drikker han en kop kaffe.
Every morning he drinks a cup of coffee.
Jeg bor i Aarhus, men min søster bor i Odense.
I live in Aarhus, but my sister lives in Odense.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The verb is always in second position in main clauses. When something other than the subject comes first, subject and verb invert.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesV2 is the most important Danish word order rule.
🇬🇧 English: English does NOT have V2. *'Yesterday went I' is wrong in English but correct in Danish!
🇷🇺 Russian: Russian has free word order. V2 is a
Placing verb in wrong position (not second)
The verb MUST be in position 2. If something other than the subject starts the sentence, invert: 'I dag spiser jeg', not *'I dag jeg spiser'.
Forgetting to invert subject and verb
When position 1 is NOT the subject, the subject moves after the verb: 'Nu bor jeg her', not *'Nu jeg bor her'.
I dag spiser vi frokost klokken tolv.
Today we eat lunch at twelve o'clock.
V2: 'I dag' fills position 1, so verb 'spiser' must be position 2, pushing 'vi' to position 3.
Hver morgen drikker han en kop kaffe.
Every morning he drinks a cup of coffee.
'Hver morgen' = position 1. Verb 'drikker' = position 2. Subject 'han' inverts to position 3.
Jeg bor i Aarhus, men min søster bor i Odense.
I live in Aarhus, but my sister lives in Odense.
After 'men' (but), a new main clause starts with its own V2: subject 'min søster' + verb 'bor'.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises