Danish at is the equivalent of English to in front of an infinitive: at gå = "to go," at spise = "to eat." That looks like a clean one-to-one match — until you hit modal verbs. After English want, can, must, will, the to either appears (want *to go) or is invisible (*can go). English speakers, used to want to, have to, like to, instinctively insert at after Danish modals too. But Danish modals take a bare infinitive with no at — so the at is always wrong. This page pins down exactly where at disappears.
The root cause: English "want TO", "have TO"
English is inconsistent, and that's the trap. Some verbs that express wanting/needing/intending keep to before the next verb — I want *to go, I have **to leave, I'd like **to stay. Others, the true modals, drop it — *I can swim, I must go, I will help. An English speaker therefore has a 50/50 habit and tends to transfer the to-keeping pattern, because want and like feel like the "normal" case.
Danish is perfectly consistent here: every modal verb takes the bare infinitive. Vil (will/want), kan (can), skal (shall/must), må (may/must), bør (ought to) — none of them tolerate at. The verb that follows appears in its plain infinitive form with nothing in front of it.
The error after each modal
The mistake looks identical no matter which modal you use — an unwanted at wedged between the modal and the next verb.
❌ Jeg vil at gå nu.
Incorrect — 'vil' takes a bare infinitive; drop the 'at'.
✅ Jeg vil gå nu.
I want to go now. / I'll go now.
❌ Hun kan at svømme.
Incorrect — 'kan' is a modal; no 'at' before 'svømme'.
✅ Hun kan svømme.
She can swim.
❌ Vi skal at arbejde i morgen.
Incorrect — 'skal' takes the bare infinitive.
✅ Vi skal arbejde i morgen.
We have to work tomorrow.
❌ Du må at gå nu.
Incorrect — 'må' (may/must) takes no 'at'.
✅ Du må gå nu.
You may go now. / You have to go now.
❌ Jeg vil gerne at bestille en kaffe.
Incorrect — 'vil gerne' (would like) is still the modal 'vil'; no 'at'.
✅ Jeg vil gerne bestille en kaffe.
I'd like to order a coffee.
That last pair is the sneakiest, because vil gerne translates as "would like to," and the English to screams to be included. It isn't — gerne is just an adverb sitting inside the same modal construction, and the infinitive after it stays bare.
Why it feels so wrong to omit at
Because at gå on its own genuinely means "to go," omitting it can feel like leaving a word out. The key insight: the modal has already done the job that at would do. A modal is a grammatical "ramp" straight into the infinitive — it doesn't need a second ramp. Compare this with verbs that are not modals, where at is required:
✅ Jeg prøver at lære dansk.
I'm trying to learn Danish. (non-modal 'prøve' keeps 'at')
✅ Jeg håber at se dig snart.
I hope to see you soon. (non-modal 'håbe' keeps 'at')
So Danish is not "at-free" — it's that modals specifically reject it. Prøve (try), håbe (hope), begynde (begin), love (promise) all keep at. The dividing line between the two groups is exactly the modal/non-modal split, laid out on the infinitive and at page.
A deeper look: at is the infinitive marker
To really lock this in, it helps to see what at actually is. Danish at is the infinitive marker — a tiny signpost that says "an infinitive is coming, used as a noun-like thing." That's why it appears in Det er svært *at lære dansk ("It's hard *to learn Danish"), where at lære behaves like a noun (the subject of the comment). English uses to for the same job.
A modal verb, though, doesn't take a noun-like complement — it takes a verb directly into its own clause. Jeg vil gå isn't "I want [the act of going]"; it's a single verbal idea, "I will-go." There's no boundary for at to mark, so it doesn't appear. This is the same logic that governs English true modals: you don't say "I can *to swim" either. English just hides the rule because its *want, need, and like (which aren't grammatically modals) keep the to and outnumber the bare-infinitive cases in everyday speech.
✅ Det er svært at lære dansk.
It's hard to learn Danish. (here 'at' is correct — not after a modal)
✅ Jeg vil lære dansk.
I want to learn Danish. (modal 'vil' — bare infinitive, no 'at')
Put those two side by side and the boundary is obvious: the same verb lære takes at after the adjective svært, but drops it after the modal vil. The modal is the deciding factor.
In questions and negatives, too
Inverting for a question or adding ikke changes nothing — the infinitive after the modal is still bare.
❌ Kan du at hjælpe mig?
Incorrect — even in a question, 'kan' takes the bare infinitive.
✅ Kan du hjælpe mig?
Can you help me?
❌ Jeg vil ikke at vente.
Incorrect — 'ikke' is fine, but 'at' must go.
✅ Jeg vil ikke vente.
I don't want to wait.
Common Mistakes — quick drill
❌ Børnene skal at sove nu.
Incorrect — 'skal' + bare infinitive.
✅ Børnene skal sove nu.
The children have to sleep now.
❌ Må jeg at låne din pen?
Incorrect — 'må' takes no 'at'.
✅ Må jeg låne din pen?
May I borrow your pen?
❌ Han kan ikke at komme i dag.
Incorrect — drop the 'at' after 'kan'.
✅ Han kan ikke komme i dag.
He can't come today.
Key takeaways
- Danish modals — vil, kan, skal, må, bør — take a bare infinitive: no at.
- The error comes from English want to, have to, would like to, where the to is kept.
- Vil gerne ("would like to") is still the modal vil — no at sneaks in via gerne.
- Non-modal verbs (prøve, håbe, begynde, love) do keep at — the modal/non-modal split is the whole rule.
See modals overview for the full set of modal meanings and infinitive and at for when at is and isn't required.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Modal Verbs: An OverviewA2 — The six core Danish modals — kunne, ville, skulle, måtte, burde, turde — their present and past forms, and the iron rule that they take a bare infinitive with no at.
- The Infinitive and the Marker AtA1 — The Danish infinitive, the infinitive marker at ('to'), when to use it and when to drop it — and the notorious at/og spelling trap.
- The Present TenseA1 — How to form the Danish present (add -r) and why one present form covers English's simple present, present continuous, and 'going to' future.
- 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.
- Yes/No QuestionsA1 — Form yes/no questions by fronting the finite verb, and answer them with ja, nej — or the special jo that contradicts a negative.