Language/Danish/Grammar/How-to-Use-Have

Danish Grammar - How to Use "Have"

Hi Danish learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will explore the use of "have" in Danish. "Have" is an important verb in Danish, used both as an auxiliary verb and as a full verb. Mastering the different nuances of "have" will take you one step closer to fluency. Let's get started!

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: Verbs (Present Tense) & Conditional Mood.

"Have" as an Auxiliary Verb

"Have" is often used as an auxiliary verb in Danish to form perfect tenses. Perfect tenses are used to describe actions that occurred at an indefinite time in the past and have a connection to the present. The structure of a Danish perfect tense sentence is:

Subject + "have/har" + past participle + object

For example:

Danish	Pronunciation	English
Jeg har læst bogen.	[jɑː hɑː lɛst ˈboːwən]	I have read the book.
De har set filmen.	[də hɑː sɛd ˈfilːmən]	They have seen the movie.
Hun har spist en pizza.	[hʉn hɑː spiːst ɛn pɪt͡sɑ]	She has eaten a pizza.
Vi har lært dansk.	[viː hɑː lɛɐ̯t ˈdænsk]	We have learned Danish.

Notice how the main verb ("læst," "set," "spist," "lært") appears in its past participle form. The past participle in Danish is usually formed by adding "-et" or "-t" to the infinitive (with some exceptions).

If you want to specify when the action took place, you can add a time expression at the end of the sentence. For example:

Danish	Pronunciation	English
Jeg har læst bogen i dag.	[jɑː hɑː lɛst ˈboːwən i dæj]	I have read the book today.
De har set filmen sidste uge.	[də hɑː sɛd ˈfilːmən ˈsi‿sdə uːə]	They have seen the movie last week.
Hun har spist en pizza for to timer siden.	[hʉn hɑː spiːst ɛn pɪt͡sɑ fɒʌ ˈto ˈhiːmɐ ˈsiːən]	She has eaten a pizza two hours ago.

"Have" is also used as an auxiliary verb to form passive voice. Passive voice is used to change the focus from the doer of the action to the receiver of the action. The structure of a Danish passive voice sentence is:

Object + "blive" + past participle + "af" + subject

For example:

Danish	Pronunciation	English
Bogen bliver læst af mig.	[ˈboːwən ˈbleːvɐ lɛst ɑf maɪ̯]	The book is being read by me.
Filmen blev set af mange mennesker.	[ˈfilːmən ˈbleːj sɛd ɑf ˈmɑŋə ˈmɛnəskə]	The movie was seen by many people.
Pizzaen bliver spist af ham.	[pɪt͡sɑn ˈbleːvɐ spiːst ɑf ham]	The pizza is being eaten by him.

Notice how the main verb again appears in its past participle form. This time, "blive" is conjugated to match the subject and the tense of the sentence. "Af" means "by."

"Have" as a Full Verb

As a full verb, "have" means "to have" in Danish. It is used to talk about possession or to form idiomatic expressions. Here are some examples:

Danish	Pronunciation	English
Jeg har en bil.	[jɑː hɑːɐ‿biːl]	I have a car.
De har et hus i Sverige.	[də hɑːɐ̯ eːd hus i ˈsvæɐ̯jə]	They have a house in Sweden.
Han har ondt i hovedet.	[hɑːn hɑːɐ̯ ʌnd̥ɪ i ˈhoʊ̯vəð]	He has a headache.
Vi har travlt.	[viː hɑːɐ̯ ˈtʁawl̩d̥]	We are busy. (Literally: We have busy)
I har ret.	[iː hɑːɐ̯ ʁɛd]	You are right. (Literally: You have right)

In Danish, "have" is not used to talk about age like in English. Instead, we use the verb "være" (to be). For example:

Danish	Pronunciation	English
Jeg er 27 år gammel.	[jɑː eːɐ̯ ˈsytˢsənsi ˈɔːʁ ˈɡɑmːl̩]	I am 27 years old.
Han er en gammel mand.	[hɑːn eːɐ̯ ɛn ˈɡɑmːl ˈmɑnˀ]	He is an old man.

Dialogue

Here's a dialogue to illustrate the use of "have" in context:

• Person 1: Hej, hvordan har du det? ([Hi, how are you?])
• Person 2: Jeg har det godt, tak. Hvad med dig? ([I'm fine, thank you. What about you?])
• Person 1: Jeg har også det godt. Har du haft en god dag? ([I'm also fine. Have you had a good day?])
• Person 2: Ja, jeg har haft en rigtig god dag. Jeg har lært en masse nyt på arbejdet. ([Yes, I've had a really good day. I've learned a lot of new things at work.])

Conclusion

Congratulations, you now know how to use "have" in Danish! Use the examples and dialogue in this lesson to practice and improve your Danish skills. To improve your Danish Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Excellent job on conquering this lesson! Consider delving into these related pages: The Nominative Case in Danish & The Locative Case in Danish.

Other Lessons

• Future Tense
• How to use “can” in Danish
• Give your Opinion
• Adjectives
• The Ablative Case in Danish
• The Inclusive Case in Danish
• How to Use Be
• How to use “to speak” in Danish
• Cardinal Numbers in Danish
• The Accusative Case in Danish

Sources

• Danish grammar - Wikipedia
• A Grammar of the Danish Language, for the Use of Englishmen, by ...
• Danish language - Wikipedia