[INDEX]

PRONOUNS

1. Personal Pronouns
 
persons subject forms   object forms  
1. sing jeg (I) mig (me)
2. sing du (you) dig (you)
3. sing han (he) ham (him)
3. sing hun (she) hende (her)
3. sing den/det (it) den/det (it)
3. sing De (you, polite) Dem (you, polite)
1. pl. vi (we) os (us)
2. pl. I (you) jer (you)
3. sing de (they) dem (them)
3. sing De (you, polite) Dem (you, polite)
                         

Usage: The object forms are used both as direct and indirect objects.

           The personal pronouns are used as in English:

                  jeg giver dig et æble (I give you an apple)
                  han ser hende (he sees her)
                  jeg giver det til hende (I give it to her)            
         
           Indirect object precedes the direct object:

                   jeg giver hende det    (I give it her)
              or: jeg giver det til hende (I give it to her)                
 


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2. Possessive Pronouns

            min/mit/mine  (my, mine)
            din/dit/dine    (your, yours)
            hans              (his)
            hendes          (her, hers)
            Deres           (your, yours, polite)
            dens/dets      (its)
            vores            (our, ours)
            jeres             (your, yours)
            deres            (their, theirs)
            Deres           (your, yours, polite)

  
 Usage: All the forms are used both attributively and predicatively:

            min bil er her   (my car is here)
            det er mit hus   (it is my house)
            det er mine biler/houses (they are my cars/houses)
         
           det er min (bilen) (it is mine (the car))
           det er mit (huset) (is is mine (the house))
           det er mine (biler/huse) (they are mine (cars/houses))
         
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3. Demonstrative Pronouns

 
  written forms spoken forms english
sing. denne/dette den her, det her this
sing. den/det den der, det der that
pl. disse de her these
pl. de der (over) de der (over) those (over there)
neuter det det it

       
Usage: The written forms can also be used in speech, but in daily speech 
           we normally use the spoken forms.
 
           Note: The spoken forms consist of 2 words, which can be placed both before the noun
                     or the noun can be placed between the 2 words:

           denne bil er rød     (this car is red)        written form
           den her bil er rød   (this car is red)        spoken form 
           den bil her er rød   (this car is red)        spoken form

           dette hus er stort   (this house is big)      written form
           det her hus er stort (this house is big)     spoken form
           det hus her er stort (this house is big)     spoken form

           disse huse               (these houses)         writen form
           de her huse             (these houses)         spoken form
           de huse her             (these houses)         spoken form
       
           but:  de huse der over er mine (those houses over there are mine)
         
         




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4. Relative Pronouns

       som (who/which/that) can be both subject and object:

                            manden som er her  (the man who is here) som/who is the subject
                            manden som jeg så  (the man who I saw)   som/who is the object

       der (who/which/that) can only be subject:

                            manden der er her   (the man who is here)  der/who is the subject
                            *manden der jeg så (the man who I saw)    der/who is the object, and the sentence is wrong

         
Usage: som/der are the 2 most used pronouns in Danish and they are used mostly as in English.
           But when a preposition is used together with a relative pronoun 
           the preposition is placed at the end of the sentence:

           manden som jeg gav bogen til (the man to whom  I gave the book)
         

          The relative pronoun can be omitted as in English:

          her er pigen, (som) jeg elsker
          here is the girl (that) I love 
         



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5. Indefinite Pronouns


         
       nogle (some) pronounced (no·n):
                    jeg har nogle venner (I have some friends)

       nogen (any)  pronounced (no·n):
                    har du nogen venner? (do you have any friends?)

       noget (something) pronounced (nå·t):
                    han må gøre noget     (he must do something)

       ingen, ikke nogen (no, nobody):
                    han har ingen venner          (he has no friends) 
                    han har ikke nogen venner (he has no friends)
                    jeg kender ingen her          (I do not know anybody here)
                    jeg kender ikke nogen hen (I know nobody here)

       intet, ikke noget (no, nothing):
                    der er intet at gøre           (there is nothing to do)
                    der er ikke noget at gøre  (there is nothing to do)

       enhver (everybody):
                    enhver må gøre noget (everybody must do something)

       alle (all (persons)):
                    jeg så dem alle (I saw them all)

       alt  (all (neuter)):
                    det var alt (that was all)

       man (one, you, we) is not found in English and can only be used as subject,
                    it is the same as on in French and man in German:

                    man må ikke ryge her (you must not smoke here/smoking not allowed)

                    man is often used in stead of the passive voice:
                    man må ikke ryge (=der må ikke ryges) (smoking is not allowed)                   
      


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6. Reflexive Pronouns


         
           1. sing.   mig   (myself)
           2. sing.   dig    (yourself)
           3. sing.   sig    (himself/herself/itself)
           1. pl.      os     (ourselves)
           2. pl.      jer    (yourselves)
           3. pl.      sig    (themselves)
         
Usage: Subject and object is the same person:

           jeg vasker mig   (I wash myself)
           han vasker sig   (he washes himself)                               sig is a reflexive pronoun
          but: han vasker ham (he washes him (another person))  him is a personal prounoun

         
          Reflexive verbs in Danish are not always reflexive in English:

         de giftede sig i kirken (they got married in the church) 
         vi satte os ned           (we sat down)
         jeg vendte mig om     (I turned round)
           





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7. Interrogative Pronouns and Adverbs


         
       hvem (who,whom): hvem er det?        (who is is?)   
       hvis   (whose):        hvis hund er dette (whose dog is this?)
       hvad (what):           hvad er dette?      (what is this?)
                                     hvad er der sket?  (what has happened?)

       hvilken/hvilket/hvilke (which): 
                        hvilken bog tog han? (which book did he take?)
                        hvilke bøger tog han? (which books did he take?)

       hvor (where):      hvor bor han? (where does he live?)
       hvornår (when):  hvornår kommer han? (when will he come?)
       hvordan (how):   hvordan er det sket? (how did it happen)
  
       hvor længe, hvor lang tid (how long time): 
                                  hvor længe har han været her?  
                                  (how long time has he been here?)

The same pronouns can also be used in interrogative subordinate clauses

        jeg ved ikke, hvem han er                (I do not know who he is)
        jeg ved ikke, hvis hund det er 
          (I do not know whose dog it is)
        han ved ikke, hvad de hedder 
          (I do not know what he is called)
        jeg ved ikke, hvilke bøger han tog 
    (I do not know what/which books he took)
        jeg ved ikke, hvor han bor                (I do not know where he lives)

Note:     These pronouns cannot be the subject in a subordinate clause,  der or det must be added:

                    a. det + a form of  "være/blive/hedde"
                    b. der + another verb

                            a. jeg ved ikke, hvem det er            (I do not know who it is)
                            b. jeg ved ikke, hvem der kommer  (I do not know who is coming)

                            a1. jeg ved ikke, hvad det er/var      (I do not know what it is/was)
                            a2. jeg ved ikke, hvad det bliver       (I do not know what the price will be)
                            b1. jeg ved ikke, hvad der er sket    (I do not know what has happened (the verb is "sker"))
                            b2. jeg kan ikke høre, hvad der siges (passive voice (I cannot hear what they are saying))