Gå | Danish Grammar

Gå is the verb of moving on your own two feet — but it is far more than "walk." It means go (on foot), it means leave (han er gået — "he's left"), it means work / function (virker det? — ja, det går — "does it work? — yes, it's going"), and it sits inside the most common small-talk question in the language: hvordan går det? ("how's it going?"). The trap for English speakers is that gå is not the all-purpose "go" of English. If you travel by car, bus or train, you do not gå — you kører or tager. Get this distinction wrong and you will tell Danes you walked to Spain.

Principal parts

Form	Danish	English
Infinitive	(at) gå	to walk / to go
Present	går	walk(s) / go(es)
Past	gik	walked / went
Past participle	gået	walked / gone
Imperative	gå!	go! / walk!

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Gå is strongly irregular — the past gik shares nothing with the present går, and you simply have to learn it (compare English "go / went," which is just as suppletive). No agreement, as ever: går is the whole present and gik is the whole past, for every subject.

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The perfect of gå is built with være: er gået, because gå describes motion to a destination — leaving one place and ending up at another. Jeg er gået means "I have left / I have gone." Use er, not har.

Present: går

Subject	Form	Example
jeg	går	jeg går i skole
du	går	du går for hurtigt
han / hun	går	hun går en tur
vi	går	vi går hjem nu
de	går	de går i biografen

Jeg går altid på arbejde, når vejret er godt.

I always walk to work when the weather is nice.

Børnene går i skole klokken otte.

The children go to school at eight.

Past: gik

Vi gik en lang tur langs stranden i går.

We took a long walk along the beach yesterday.

Hun gik, før festen var slut.

She left before the party was over.

Present perfect: er gået

The perfect takes være, giving er gået. With a destination it means "has gone (somewhere)"; on its own it most often means "has left."

Han er allerede gået hjem.

He's already gone home.

Toget er lige gået.

The train has just left.

Past perfect: var gået

Da jeg ringede, var hun allerede gået.

When I called, she had already left.

Gå means walk — not 'go by vehicle'

This is the single most important thing to internalise. English "go" is mode-neutral: "I'm going to Copenhagen" says nothing about how. Danish gå is not neutral — it specifically means on foot. To go by car, bus, train or bike, Danish uses:

køre — to go by driving / riding (car, bus, bike); see Køre
tage — to take (a train, bus, the metro); see Tage

Jeg tager toget til København i morgen.

I'm taking the train to Copenhagen tomorrow.

Vi kører til sommerhuset i weekenden.

We're driving to the summer house this weekend.

Det er for langt at gå, så vi tager bussen.

It's too far to walk, so we'll take the bus.

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If you say jeg går til Spanien, a Dane will picture you setting off on foot, rucksack and all. To travel there you rejser, flyver or tager — never går. Reserve gå for distances your legs could actually cover.

Det går: gå means 'work / function / be going'

A whole family of everyday idioms uses gå for how things are going or working — not motion at all. Det går on its own means "things are going (okay)." This is why the standard "how are you" is built on gå.

— Hvordan går det? — Det går fint, tak.

— How's it going? — It's going fine, thanks.

Hvordan gik det til eksamen?

How did the exam go?

Computeren går meget langsomt i dag.

The computer is running very slowly today.

Imperative: gå!

Gå nu, ellers misser du toget!

Go now, or you'll miss the train!

Common collocations and fixed expressions

gå en tur — to go for a walk
gå i skole / på arbejde — to go to school / work
gå i gang (med) — to get started (on)
gå glip af — to miss out on
det går (fint) — it's going (fine)

Skal vi gå en tur, før vi går i gang med maden?

Shall we go for a walk before we get started on the food?

A natural exchange

— Hvordan går det med det nye job? — Det går rigtig godt! — Tager du bilen derhen? — Nej, jeg går faktisk, det er kun ti minutter.

— How's it going with the new job? — It's going really well! — Do you take the car there? — No, I actually walk, it's only ten minutes.

Common mistakes

❌ Jeg går til København med toget.

Incorrect — gå means on foot; for a train use tage (or rejse/køre).

✅ Jeg tager toget til København.

I'm taking the train to Copenhagen.

❌ Han har gået hjem.

Incorrect for 'he's gone home' — gå is a motion verb and takes være in the perfect.

✅ Han er gået hjem.

He's gone home.

❌ Hun gåede en tur.

Incorrect — gå is irregular; the past is gik, never a regular -ede form.

✅ Hun gik en tur.

She went for a walk.

❌ Hvordan går du?

Means literally 'how do you walk?' — the idiom for 'how are you' is hvordan går det?

✅ Hvordan går det?

How's it going? / How are you?

❌ Vi gik til sommerhuset i bilen.

Contradictory — you cannot gå in a car; driving is køre.

✅ Vi kørte til sommerhuset.

We drove to the summer house.

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