Danish grammar

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The present tense

The present tense is the main tense for talking about now and about general facts. In Danish it is formed with the finite verb (the verb marked with tense).
Regular rule: infinitive + -r
at lave	Jeg laver	I make/do
at prøve	Han prøver	He tries
at glemme	Hun glemmer	She forgets
at fylde	Jeg fylder	I fill
at se	Jeg ser	I see
Irregular forms
at gøre	Han gør	He does
at have	Hun har	She has
at være	Jeg er	I am
The form is the same for all persons (no -s for 3rd person as in English).
at se	Jeg ser	I see
	Han ser	He sees
	Du ser	You see
	Vi ser	We see
Modal verbs: no -r
After modal (helping) verbs like skal, vil, må, kan, tør, bør, the next verb stays in the bare infinitive (without -r).
Jeg får en øl	Må jeg få en øl?	I get a beer / May I get a beer?
Vi holder ferie	Hvor skal vi holde ferie?	We are on holiday / Where shall we go on holiday?
Jeg sender det	Jeg vil sende det	I send it / I want to send it
Han kommer ikke i morgen	Han kan ikke komme i morgen	He isn't coming tomorrow / He cannot come tomorrow
Common pitfalls
Adding -r after a modal: ✘kan kommer	✓ Correct: kan komme
Using English 3rd person -s: ✘han sers	✓ Same form for all persons: han ser
Forgetting irregular present forms: ✘hun haves	✓ Correct irregulars: hun har, jeg er
Quick tips
• Present tense = infinitive + -r • Same for all persons (no 3rd person -s) • After modals, drop the -r • Watch out for irregular verbs (har, er, gør)
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