Modtage means 'to receive', and it is a slightly more formal, more deliberate verb than the everyday få ('get'). It is built from the prefix mod- ('toward, counter') and the strong verb tage ('take'), so it inherits tage's strong conjugation wholesale: modtager / modtog / modtaget. If you already know tage, you already know modtage — just keep the prefix attached.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Past | Past participle | Imperative |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (at) modtage | modtager | modtog | modtaget | modtag! |
Modtage is strong, following tage exactly: present modtager, past modtog (the a becomes o, just as tage → tog), participle modtaget. The imperative modtag! drops the final -e, again like tag!. The prefix mod- is unstressed and never changes.
Present: modtager
Vi modtager gerne din ansøgning inden fredag.
We're happy to receive your application before Friday.
Hotellet modtager gæster fra klokken to.
The hotel receives guests from two o'clock.
Past: modtog
The strong past modtog mirrors tog. There is no weak modtagede.
Hun modtog prisen med tårer i øjnene.
She received the award with tears in her eyes.
Vi modtog en pakke fra Tyskland i morges.
We received a parcel from Germany this morning.
Present perfect: har modtaget
Modtage takes the auxiliary have — har modtaget — just like its parent verb tage (har taget). It is a transitive verb of acquisition, not motion or change of state, so have is the only correct auxiliary.
Har du modtaget min e-mail?
Have you received my email?
De har endnu ikke modtaget betalingen.
They haven't received the payment yet.
Common collocations
Modtage keeps the company of fairly formal objects — official, ceremonial, or institutional things you take in.
- modtage en pakke / et brev / en e-mail — receive a parcel / a letter / an email
- modtage gæster — receive guests, host
- modtage en pris / en udmærkelse — receive a prize / an award
- modtage hjælp / støtte / behandling — receive help / support / treatment
Familien modtog megen støtte fra naboerne.
The family received a lot of support from the neighbours.
Patienten modtager behandling på Rigshospitalet.
The patient is receiving treatment at the National Hospital.
The related noun is en modtager ('a recipient'), the standard word on an envelope or in an email header — the counterpart of afsender ('sender'). The same root gives modtagelse, which does double duty: it means both 'reception' in the abstract sense (how something was received — bogen fik en god modtagelse, 'the book was well received') and 'a reception' as an event (en officiel modtagelse, 'an official reception'). Recognising this family lets you move between the verb and its nouns without relearning vocabulary.
Skriv modtagerens adresse her.
Write the recipient's address here.
Filmen fik en blandet modtagelse hos anmelderne.
The film got a mixed reception from the reviewers.
Modtage versus få — register is everything
This is the heart of using modtage well. Both modtage and få can translate 'receive/get', but they are not interchangeable in tone.
- få is the everyday, neutral, all-purpose verb. In speech, Danes say få for almost everything you 'get'.
- modtage is more formal and more deliberate. It belongs to written notices, official communication, ceremonies, and customer-facing prose.
Jeg fik et brev fra banken i dag.
I got a letter from the bank today. (everyday speech)
Banken bekræfter, at vi har modtaget Deres henvendelse.
The bank confirms that we have received your enquiry. (formal/official)
Both sentences are about getting a letter, but the second sounds like a corporate reply, signalled further by the formal Deres ('your'). In casual conversation, choosing modtage where få is natural makes you sound stiff — almost like reading from a form.
There is also a grammatical difference that reinforces the register split. Få loves an indirect object — you can få nogen noget in the sense of getting something for someone, and it readily takes the pattern få noget af nogen ('get something from someone'). Modtage is more single-minded: it takes a direct object and a source phrase with fra ('from'), and it does not hand things to a third party. This is part of why modtage feels official — it describes a clean, one-directional act of something arriving to a recipient, with none of the flexible, favour-doing warmth of få.
Kan du lige få mig et glas vand?
Could you get me a glass of water? (få with an indirect object — never modtage)
Ministeriet modtog ansøgningen fra kommunen.
The ministry received the application from the municipality. (modtage: direct object + fra)
A third relative, acceptere ('accept'), is sometimes confused with modtage, but they differ: modtage is the neutral act of having something arrive to you; acceptere adds agreement or approval. You can modtage an offer (it reaches you) and then either acceptere it or reject it.
Common Mistakes
❌ Hun modtagede en pris i går.
Incorrect — modtage is strong; there is no weak past 'modtagede'.
✅ Hun modtog en pris i går.
She received a prize yesterday.
❌ Jeg har modtagede din besked.
Incorrect — the participle is modtaget, like taget.
✅ Jeg har modtaget din besked.
I've received your message.
❌ Jeg modtog en kop kaffe af min ven.
Stilted — between friends this everyday situation calls for fik.
✅ Jeg fik en kop kaffe af min ven.
My friend got me a cup of coffee.
❌ Modtog du min sms?
Overly formal for a text message between friends.
✅ Fik du min sms?
Did you get my text?
The recurring English-speaker error is over-using modtage, because English 'receive' feels like the dictionary-perfect translation. But everyday English 'get' maps to Danish få, and få is what natives reach for in speech. Save modtage for the formal register — and never weaken its past to modtagede.
Key takeaways
- Strong pattern, identical to tage with a prefix: modtage / modtog / modtaget.
- Perfect uses have: har modtaget.
- More formal than få — choose modtage for official, written, or ceremonial contexts and få for everyday speech.
- acceptere adds agreement; modtage is just the neutral act of something arriving to you.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- TageA2 — Full reference for the strong verb tage ('to take'), the silent -g, and its central role in talking about transport.
- FåA2 — Full reference for få ('to get / receive') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, the all-important causative få + past participle ('have something done'), and the 'be allowed / manage to' uses with lov and tid.
- Strong Verbs: Ablaut PatternsA2 — Danish strong verbs form their past by changing the stem vowel — learn the major ablaut series as families to turn memorisation into pattern recognition.
- SætteA2 — The verb sætte — to put, place or set (in a seated/upright position) — its reflexive sætte sig 'sit down', and the sætte/stille/lægge placement triad, with full principal parts and tenses.