The Danish present tense: infinitive + r for every person (taler, bor, går), the few irregular verbs, and how one form covers 'I speak', 'I'm speaking' and often 'I'll speak'.
Can form the present tense of Danish verbs and use it for habits, things happening now and fixed plans
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Jeg taler dansk, og hun taler engelsk.
I speak Danish, and she speaks English.
Vi spiser morgenmad klokken otte.
We eat breakfast at eight o'clock.
Børnene leger i haven, og far læser avisen.
The children play in the garden, and dad reads the newspaper.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
Danish verbs do not change for the person: jeg taler, du taler, hun taler, vi taler, de taler. Once you know one present form you know them all, which puts Danish a step ahead of English, where "he speaks" still needs its -s.
Take the infinitive (the form after at) and add -r:
| Infinitive | Present | Example |
|---|---|---|
| at tale (speak) | taler | Jeg taler lidt dansk. |
| at spise (eat) | spiser | Vi spiser frokost klokken tolv. |
| at cykle (cycle) | cykler | Hun cykler på arbejde. |
| at bo (live) | bor | De bor i Odense. |
| at gå (walk, go) | går | Vi går en tur langs havnen. |
| at se (see, watch) | ser | Han ser fodbold. |
In speech the ending -er sounds like a weak "-a": taler is roughly "tah-la".
A handful of very common verbs break the pattern. Learn them as whole words:
| Infinitive | Present |
|---|---|
| at være (be) | er |
| at have (have) | har |
| at gøre (do) | gør |
| at vide (know a fact) | ved |
| kunne, skulle, ville, måtte, burde | kan, skal, vil, må, bør |
The Danish present covers the English simple present, the English "-ing" form and, with a time word, many futures:
Dictionaries list verbs by the infinitive, so to look up a form like cykler or hedder, take the -r off: cykle, hedde.
To stress that something is going on right now, Danes often pair a posture verb with og: Jeg sidder og læser. (I'm sitting reading.) Hun står og venter på bussen. (She's standing waiting for the bus.)
The person ending is gone, and there is no "be + -ing". The ending -s exists in Danish, but it makes the passive: Smørrebrød spises med kniv og gaffel. (Smørrebrød is eaten with a knife and fork.) So an English "he speaks" carried over gives a sentence that means something else. Typical mistakes:
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesAdding a person ending, often an English-style -s (*han tales)
One present form for every person: jeg taler, han taler. A Danish -s ending makes the passive.
Leaving out the present -r or using the bare infinitive (*Jeg tale)
Infinitive + r: tale → taler, bo → bor, gå → går. Irregular: er, har, gør, ved, kan, skal, vil, må, bør.
Building an English-style progressive (*Jeg er spiser)
The plain present covers 'I'm eating': Jeg spiser. For emphasis: Jeg sidder og spiser.
Jeg taler dansk, og hun taler engelsk.
I speak Danish, and she speaks English.
The same form 'taler' goes with jeg and hun: the verb does not change for the person.
Vi spiser morgenmad klokken otte.
We eat breakfast at eight o'clock.
'Spiser' from 'at spise'. 'Morgenmad' = breakfast (literally 'morning food'). 'Klokken' = at (time).
Børnene leger i haven, og far læser avisen.
The children play in the garden, and dad reads the newspaper.
'Leger' from 'at lege' (play). 'Læser' from 'at læse' (read). Both regular -er endings.
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Ready-made hints are free
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
A1 Module 1: Danish greetings, pronunciation, and first sentences