Guides › Verbs
Danish verb tenses: present, past, perfect and future
Danish verbs are friendly: they never change with the person, so jeg spiser and de spiser look the same. You need four forms per verb (infinitive, present, past, past participle), and most verbs follow one of two regular patterns. The future usually needs no special tense at all.
The four forms
| Infinitive | Present | Past | Perfect | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lave | laver | lavede | har lavet | make |
| spise | spiser | spiste | har spist | eat |
| gå | går | gik | er gået | go, walk |
| være | er | var | har været | be |
| have | har | havde | har haft | have |
| se | ser | så | har set | see |
| tage | tager | tog | har taget | take |
| komme | kommer | kom | er kommet | come |
The present almost always ends in -r. The main exceptions are the modal verbs: kan, vil, skal, må.
Two regular groups, plus the irregulars
- Group 1 adds -ede in the past: lave → lavede, arbejde → arbejdede.
- Group 2 adds -te: spise → spiste, køre → kørte.
- Irregular verbs change their vowel or whole form: gå → gik, se → så. There are not many, but they are the most common verbs, so learn them early.
Quick check
“Yesterday we went for a walk.” I går ___ vi en tur.
gik. gå is irregular: gå, går, gik, er gået.
Show answer
gik. gå is irregular.
Past or perfect?
Danish draws the line much like English.
- Jeg flyttede til Danmark i 2020.Past (datid): finished, at a stated time.
- Jeg har boet i Danmark i fem år.Perfect (førnutid): it started then and is still true now.
- Har du været i Skagen?Perfect: an experience, no particular time.
The perfect uses har for most verbs and er for some verbs of movement and change. The full story is in har or er? The helper verb in the Danish perfect.
Quick check
“I've lived here for three years.” (and still do) Jeg ___ her i tre år.
har boet. It started in the past and is still true now, so Danish uses the perfect, just like English.
Show answer
har boet. It is still true now.
The past perfect
For something that happened before another past event, use havde or var plus the participle:
- Vi havde spist, da gæsterne kom.We had eaten when the guests arrived.
- Da jeg kom, var hun allerede gået.When I arrived, she had already left.
Talking about the future
Danish has no single future tense. Three tools cover almost everything:
- I morgen arbejder jeg.Present + a time word. The most common way.
- Jeg skal til Aarhus i weekenden.skal: plans and arrangements.
- Det kommer til at regne.kommer til at: predictions.
Careful with vil: it mostly means want to. Jeg vil gerne have en kaffe means “I'd like a coffee”, not “I will have a coffee”.
Frequently asked questions
Do Danish verbs change with the person?
No. The verb has the same form for every person: jeg spiser, du spiser, de spiser. You only learn one form per tense.
When do you use the past or the perfect in Danish?
Use the past (datid) for something finished at a stated time, such as i går or sidste år. Use the perfect (førnutid) when it connects to now: something still going on, or an experience at no particular time.
How do you talk about the future in Danish?
Often with the present tense and a time word: I morgen arbejder jeg. Use skal for plans (Jeg skal til Aarhus i weekenden) and kommer til at for predictions (Det kommer til at regne).
What are the Danish verb groups?
Group 1 adds -ede in the past (lave, lavede, lavet). Group 2 adds -te (spise, spiste, spist). Irregular verbs such as gå, være, have and se change their vowel or form and have to be learned.
Practise it. Tidsmaskinen trains choosing the right tense in context, and Magiske Verber drills the verb forms. Both games are in Danish.
Play Tidsmaskinen → Play Magiske Verber →