Danish grammar

Sentence structure

Danish sentence structure follows one simple rule: the finite verb (the one showing tense) must always be the second element in a main clause (the V2 rule). Everything else falls into place around this rule. Let's build up from the simplest sentences to more complex ones.
Step 1 – Subject-Verb-Object (like English)
Han skriver en bog	He writes a book
Vi spiser morgenmad	We eat breakfast
Hun læser avisen	She reads the newspaper

Step 2 – Add negation right after the verb
Danish puts ikke (not) immediately after the finite verb:
Han skriver ikke en bog	He does not write a book
Vi spiser ikke morgenmad	We do not eat breakfast
Hun læser ikke avisen	She does not read the newspaper
Step 3 – Other words that work like ikke
Words like ofte, altid, aldrig, måske also go right after the finite verb:
Han skriver altid bøger	He always writes books
Vi spiser ofte hjemme	We often eat at home
Hun læser måske avisen	She maybe reads the newspaper
Step 4 – With two verbs (e.g., can, will, have)
The first verb stays second, the second verb comes after ikke/ofte/altid:
Han vil skrive en bog	He will write a book
Han vil ikke skrive en bog	He will not write a book
Vi har altid spist hjemme	We have always eaten at home
Hun kan måske læse avisen	She can maybe read the newspaper
Step 5 – Moving other things to the front
You can move time, place, or objects to the front for emphasis. The verb stays second, so the subject moves to third (this causes inversion).
I dag skriver han ikke en bog	Today he does not write a book
Hjemme spiser vi ofte	At home we often eat
Den bog læser hun måske	That book she maybe reads
The pattern you need to remember
Neutral order: Subject - Finite verb - (ikke/ofte/altid) - (Second verb) - Object With fronting: [Fronted element] - Finite verb - Subject - (ikke/ofte/altid) - (Second verb) - Object The key insight: the finite verb is always second, and ikke/ofte/altid type words stick close to it.
Questions follow the same rule
Skriver han en bog?	Does he write a book?
Hvor spiser I ofte?	Where do you often eat?
Hvad læser hun ikke?	What does she not read?
Exception – subordinate clauses
After words like at, fordi, når, hvis, the verb doesn't jump to second position:
Jeg ved, at han ikke skriver en bog	I know that he does not write a book
Vi spiser hjemme, fordi vi ofte har travlt	We eat at home because we are often busy
Common pitfalls
✘ I dag jeg skriver ikke	✓ I dag skriver jeg ikke
✘ Han ikke skriver en bog	✓ Han skriver ikke en bog
✘ ...fordi han skriver ikke	✓ ...fordi han ikke skriver
The one rule to remember
In main clauses, the finite verb is always the second element (V2 rule). Everything else – negation, frequency words, objects, time expressions – arranges itself around this central rule. Once you internalize this, Danish word order becomes predictable.
Quick tips
• The finite verb is always second in main clauses (V2). • Adverbs like ikke, ofte, and altid go right after the finite verb. • When you move something to the front, the subject goes after the verb: I dag spiser jeg. • In subclauses (after fordi, at, etc.), the adverb comes before the verb: ...fordi jeg ikke læser.

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