Guides › Word order
Danish word order: the V2 rule made simple
Danish word order rests on one rule: in a main clause the verb is always in second place (the V2 rule). The subject sits just before or just after it, small words like ikke come after both, and then object, place and time follow. Subordinate clauses work differently: there ikke moves in front of the verb.
The main-clause row
Picture every main clause as a row of fixed seats. You do not have to fill every seat, but you never change their order:
| 1 · first | 2 · verb | subject | ikke etc. | other verb | object | place | time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeg | så | – | ikke | filmen | i biografen | i går. | |
| I går | så | jeg | ikke | filmen | i biografen. | ||
| Jeg | har | – | ikke | set | filmen. |
Three things to notice: the verb never leaves seat 2; when the subject is not in seat 1, it comes right after the verb; and ikke comes after both of them.
Inversion: when the subject moves
Put a time, a place, an object or an adverb first, and the subject has to wait until after the verb:
- Jeg spiser fisk i dag.I'm eating fish today.
- I dag spiser jeg fisk.Today I'm eating fish.
- I dag jeg spiser fisk.The English pattern does not work in Danish.
A whole hvis- or når-clause can sit in seat 1 too, so the verb comes straight after the comma: Hvis det regner, bliver jeg hjemme. More on this in Danish inversion: why the verb jumps in front of the subject.
Quick check
“Tomorrow we're taking the train.”
I morgen tager vi toget. I morgen fills seat 1, so the verb tager comes second and vi follows it.
Show answer
I morgen tager vi toget. The verb stays in seat 2.
Questions
A yes/no question leaves seat 1 empty, so the verb comes first. A question word takes seat 1, and the verb follows:
- Taler du dansk?Do you speak Danish?
- Hvor bor du?Where do you live?
- Hvorfor kommer han ikke?Why isn't he coming?
Danish has no helper like English do. You simply move the verb.
Subordinate clauses: ikke moves forward
A subordinate clause starts with a signal word such as at, fordi, hvis, når, om or som. Inside it the subject comes first, then ikke, then the verb:
- Jeg spiser ikke kød.Main clause: verb, then ikke.
- …, fordi jeg ikke spiser kød.Subordinate clause: ikke, then the verb.
The same goes for altid, aldrig, også and kun. The full explanation is in Where does ikke go?
Quick check
“I know that he never drinks coffee.”
…, at han aldrig drikker kaffe. After at, words like aldrig go in front of the verb.
Show answer
Jeg ved, at han aldrig drikker kaffe. After at, aldrig goes before the verb.
Linking words
og and men change nothing, fordi starts a subordinate clause, and derfor takes seat 1 and triggers inversion. See og, fordi or derfor? for the three teams side by side.
Frequently asked questions
What is the V2 rule in Danish?
In a Danish main clause the verb is always the second element. If the sentence starts with something other than the subject, the subject moves to just after the verb: I dag spiser jeg fisk.
Where does ikke go in Danish?
In a main clause ikke comes after the verb (Jeg spiser ikke kød). In a subordinate clause it comes before the verb (fordi jeg ikke spiser kød).
Is Danish word order the same as English?
The basic order subject, verb, object is the same, but Danish keeps the verb in second place when something else comes first, and places words like ikke and altid differently.
How do you make a question in Danish?
For a yes/no question, put the verb first: Taler du dansk? With a question word, the question word comes first and the verb second: Hvor bor du?
Practise it. Ordstillingsdetektiven gives you jumbled sentences to put in order, and Sætningsmaskinen trains subordinate clauses with word blocks. Both games are in Danish.
Play Ordstillingsdetektiven → Play Sætningsmaskinen →