In Danish, the single most important thing a conjunction tells you is not its meaning but the word order it forces in the clause that follows. Coordinators keep the verb in second position (V2), the same as a normal main clause; subordinators flip the order so that sentence adverbs like ikke and altid land before the finite verb. This page is a reference: look up the conjunction, read off the order, and check it against the model clause.
The one rule that matters
Danish main clauses obey the V2 rule: the finite verb is the second element, and any sentence adverb (ikke, altid, aldrig, også, jo, nok) comes after the verb. Subordinate clauses break this. In a subordinate clause the subject comes first and the sentence adverb sits before the finite verb. This single contrast — adverb after the verb vs. adverb before the verb — is what you are really tracking.
Han kommer ikke i dag.
He isn't coming today.
...fordi han ikke kommer i dag.
...because he isn't coming today.
Notice how ikke jumps from after kommer (main clause) to before kommer (subordinate clause). English has no equivalent shuffle — the verb and "not" stay glued together regardless of the conjunction. That is exactly why this trips up English speakers.
Coordinators — main order (V2)
The coordinating conjunctions og (and), men (but), eller (or), for (for, because), and så (so) join two clauses of equal rank. The clause after them is a full main clause: verb second, sentence adverb after the verb.
| Conjunction | Meaning | Order | Model clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| og | and | main (V2) | ...og hun spiser ikke kød. |
| men | but | main (V2) | ...men jeg vil ikke med. |
| eller | or | main (V2) | ...eller vi tager bare hjem. |
| for | for / because | main (V2) | ...for han orker ikke mere. |
| så | so | main (V2) | ...så vi blev bare hjemme. |
Jeg ringede til hende, men hun svarede ikke.
I called her, but she didn't answer.
Vi tager toget, for bilen er på værksted.
We're taking the train, because the car is at the garage.
In each case the second clause could stand alone as a sentence: Hun svarede ikke. Bilen er på værksted. That is the hallmark of a coordinator — it links two independent main clauses without changing their internal order.
Subordinators — subordinate order
Subordinating conjunctions open a clause that cannot stand alone. Here the subject comes first and the sentence adverb moves to a fixed slot before the finite verb. Below are the high-frequency subordinators with a model clause each — watch the position of ikke / altid.
| Conjunction | Meaning | Order | Model clause |
|---|---|---|---|
| at | that | subordinate | ...at hun ikke kommer. |
| fordi | because | subordinate | ...fordi han ikke orker mere. |
| hvis | if | subordinate | ...hvis du ikke har tid. |
| da | when / since (past, single event) | subordinate | ...da vi endelig kom frem. |
| når | when (repeated / future) | subordinate | ...når jeg endelig får fri. |
| som | that / which / who | subordinate | ...bogen, som jeg ikke har læst. |
| mens | while | subordinate | ...mens hun stadig sov. |
| selvom | although | subordinate | ...selvom det ikke regner. |
| om | whether | subordinate | ...om han overhovedet kommer. |
| inden | before | subordinate | ...inden vi helt glemmer det. |
| før | before | subordinate | ...før det helt bliver mørkt. |
| efter at | after | subordinate | ...efter at de endelig var gået. |
Hun siger, at hun ikke kan komme til festen.
She says that she can't come to the party.
Jeg går en tur, hvis det ikke regner i morgen.
I'll go for a walk if it isn't raining tomorrow.
Han læste avisen, mens kaffen langsomt blev kold.
He read the paper while the coffee slowly went cold.
In every one of these the adverb (ikke, langsomt, stadig, endelig) sits between the subject and the finite verb — a position that is simply impossible in a Danish main clause.
The classic test pair: for vs. fordi
Danish has two everyday words for "because," and they belong to opposite categories. For is a coordinator (main order); fordi is a subordinator (subordinate order). They mean almost the same thing, but they trigger different word order — which makes them the textbook proof that order tracks the conjunction's class, not its meaning.
Jeg blev hjemme, for jeg var ikke rask.
I stayed home, because I wasn't well. (coordinator — ikke after the verb)
Jeg blev hjemme, fordi jeg ikke var rask.
I stayed home, because I wasn't well. (subordinator — ikke before the verb)
Same idea, same words, but for jeg *var ikke vs. fordi jeg **ikke var. If you remember only one example pair from this page, remember this one. A useful difference in nuance: *fordi can answer a direct hvorfor? (why?) question and can be fronted; for cannot do either — it only ever links a following clause.
Fronted subordinate clauses — inversion in the main clause
When a subordinate clause is moved to the front of the sentence, it fills the first slot of the V2 schema. The main clause that follows must then put its verb in second position — which means the verb comes before its subject. The whole subordinate clause counts as one element.
Når jeg kommer hjem, laver jeg mad.
When I come home, I cook. (verb 'laver' before subject 'jeg')
Hvis du spørger mig, er det en dårlig idé.
If you ask me, it's a bad idea.
Selvom det var sent, gik vi en lang tur.
Although it was late, we went for a long walk.
Compare the un-fronted versions: Jeg laver mad, når jeg kommer hjem / Det er en dårlig idé, hvis du spørger mig. With the subordinate clause at the back, the main clause keeps ordinary subject-verb order. Move it to the front and the verb leaps ahead of the subject. English does the opposite — it keeps "I cook" intact: When I come home, I cook, never *cook I. This inversion is the single most common error English speakers make in written Danish.
Common Mistakes
❌ Han siger, at han kommer ikke.
Incorrect — after 'at' (subordinator), ikke must come before the verb.
✅ Han siger, at han ikke kommer.
He says that he isn't coming.
❌ Jeg blev hjemme, fordi jeg var ikke rask.
Incorrect — 'fordi' is a subordinator, so ikke goes before the verb.
✅ Jeg blev hjemme, fordi jeg ikke var rask.
I stayed home because I wasn't well.
❌ Når jeg kommer hjem, jeg laver mad.
Incorrect — a fronted subordinate clause forces inversion; the verb must come before the subject.
✅ Når jeg kommer hjem, laver jeg mad.
When I come home, I cook.
❌ Hun blev sur, for hun ikke fik et svar.
Incorrect — 'for' is a coordinator (main order); ikke goes after the verb.
✅ Hun blev sur, for hun fik ikke et svar.
She got annoyed, because she didn't get an answer.
Key Takeaways
- Coordinators (og, men, eller, for, så) keep main-clause order: verb second, sentence adverb after the verb.
- Subordinators (at, fordi, hvis, da, når, som, mens, selvom, om, inden, før, efter at) force subordinate order: subject first, sentence adverb before the verb.
- for and fordi both mean "because" but trigger opposite orders — the definitive test pair.
- A fronted subordinate clause counts as element one, so the following main clause inverts: verb before subject.
- The reliable diagnostic is always the position of ikke relative to the finite verb.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Subordinate-Clause Word OrderB1 — Danish subordinate clauses follow a different template from main clauses: no V2 inversion, and sentence adverbs like ikke come before the finite verb, not after it.
- The Diderichsen Sentence SchemaC1 — The sætningsskema — the field model taught in Danish schools that generates correct Danish word order, from which V2, inversion, and ikke-placement all fall out automatically.
- Conjunctions: An OverviewA1 — Danish conjunctions split into coordinating (join equals, no word-order change) and subordinating (introduce subordinate clauses with subordinate word order) — and the split is worth learning for its grammar, not its meaning.
- The V2 Rule: Verb SecondA1 — The core rule of Danish main clauses: the finite verb stands in second position, with exactly one constituent before it — and the subject inverts when anything else is fronted.
- Fronting a Subordinate ClauseB1 — A whole subordinate clause can fill the first slot of a main clause — and when it does, it counts as one constituent, so the main verb inverts and comes right after the comma.