Scandinavian language challenge day 7

Today I worked through the second chapter of Danish in three months, covering:

  • verbs: basic form and present tense
  • object pronouns
  • sentence building: questions and answers
  • question word: who, what

Verbs: infinitive and present tense

The infinitive of verbs ends in unstressed e or a stressed vowel. Examples: at høre (to hear); at stå (to stand).

The present tense is formed by adding -r. Examples: hører; står. That using is used for all persons of the singular and plural.

The present sense of some verbs (for example, at befri, at sy) can be written with an -e (befrier, syer)

The stressed syllable is usually short in the present tense—even if it is long in the infinitive.

If the infinitive ends in a stressed vowel, the vowel is always followed by a glottal stop. The glottal stop is retained in the present tense. Examples of these verbs: at forstå (to understand); at se (to see); at slå (to hit); at le (to laught); at gå (to go); at befri (to release); at sy (to sew).

Verbs that are irregular in the present tense incclude gør (at gøre = to do) and ved (at vide = to know a fact; to know a person = kende).
Jeg ved, hvor han bor, men jeg kender ham ikke.
I know where he lives but I don’t know him.

A passive form of the verb is formed by adding the suffix -s in the infinitive and present tense. Examples: vi skændes ( we are quarrelling, infinitive: at skændes); jeg synes, det er grimt (I thik it is ugly); Synes du om filmen (do you like the film?)

Some verbs (like English or German):

  • at synge (to sing) at tale (to speak); at spise (to eat); at løbe (to run); at bruge (to use); at blive (to become, turn, stay); at komme (to come); at ligge (to lie); at lægge (to lay); at sidde (to sit); at ryge (to smoke); at drikke (to smoke); at bide (to bite); at sælge (to sell); at falde (to fall); at kalde (to call); at hade (to hate); at bringe (to bring); at tage (to take); at tage med (go/come along); at købe (to buy); at møde (to meet); at sove (to sleep); at flyve (to fly); at skubbe (to push, eg at skubbe en trillebør, to push a wheelbarrow); at sejle (to sail); at besøge (to visit); at skrive (to write); at besøke (visit);

Some other verbs:

  • at adlyde (to obey); at elsker (to love); at hente (to collect, fetch); at spørge (to ask); at svare (to answer); at køre (to drive); at bo (to live); at rydde op (to clear up); at slappe af (to relax); at gø (bark);

Object pronouns

Me
You (familiar)
You (polite)
Him
Her
It (common)
It (neuter)
Us
You (pl. fam)
You (pl. pol)
They

mig
dig
Dem
ham
hende
den
det
os
jer
Dem
dem

Hinanden = each other
De arbejder med hinanden = They are working with each other
Måndene giver hinanden hånden på det = the men shake hands on it

Sentence building: questions and answers

Simple sentences:

  • the verb always comes second
  • if the subject comes after the verb, it comes right after the verb.

Simple question (without interrogative word):

  • the verb comes first
  • the subject follows right after the verb.
    Example: køber du en bil i dag? Are you buying a car today?

Negative answers:

  • nej + no
  • ikke = not. Ikke comes immediately after the subject and verb. Example: Neg, jeg forstårikke tysk. No, I don’t undedrstand German.

Like ikke, some adverbs, such as aldrig (=never), altid (= always), nu (= now), tit (= often) also come immediately after the subject and verb. Example: Peter kende aldrig svaret = Peter never knows the answer.

But, if the object is a pronoun, ikke and these adverbs go immediately after the pronoun object, not after the verb. Example: Jeg drikker den ikke i dag. I am not drinking that today.

Jo (rather tha Ja) is used to give an affirmative answer to a negative question (like German doch or French si).

Tag questions:

  • positive: use ikke. Example: Det er kald i dag, ikke?I t’s cold today, isn’t it?
  • negative, use vel. Example: Franskmændene spiller aldrig godt mod os, vel? The French never play well against us, do they?

Question words: who, what

Examples:

  • Hvem taler dansk? Who speaks Danish?
  • Hvem giver du boret til? Who are you giving the wine to?
  • Hvor er benzinstationen? Where is the petrol station?
  • Hvornår sender Margrethe brevet? When is Margrethe sending the letter?
  • Hvordan køber du en ny bil y dag? How are you buying a new car today?
  • Hver stor er byen? How big is the town?
  • Hvad spiser du? What are you eating?
  • Hvis bil kører du? Whose car are you driving?
  • Hvorfor læser du bogen? Why are you reading the book?

Some other words

Prepositions: til (to); mod (towards); ad (at); for (for); mellem (between); om (about); i (in)

Nouns (like English or German): en fugl (-e)(bird); et vind (window); et øjeblik (minute); svigermore (mother-in-law); forår (spring); snart (soon); et wienerbrød (Danish pastry); en høne (-r)( hen); dér (there: note accent); en vin (-e) (wine); en skole (-er) (school); en ferie (r) (holiday); årsag (cause); virkning (effect); mand (husband); adresse (-r)(address)

Other nouns: en skov (wood / forest); held (luck); en gave (-r) (gift); en ven (friend); en morgenmad (breakfast); politibejent (policeman)

Adjectives: rasende (furious); hans (his); færdig finished; selvfølggelig; (of course); naturligvis (of course)

Other words: eller (or); meget (much, a lot); men (but); lidt (a little); når (when); alene (alone); selvf

phrases: i dag (today); i år (this year); måske (perhaps); så (so that)

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