Være is the single most important verb in Danish — the verb "to be." It is the copula (linking a subject to a description), the existential verb (in der er, "there is"), and the perfect auxiliary for motion and change verbs. It is also irregular, but in the friendliest possible way: because Danish verbs never agree with their subject, there is only one present form to learn, and it covers "I am," "you are," and "they are" all at once.
Principal parts
| Form | Danish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitive | (at) være | to be |
| Present | er | am / is / are |
| Past | var | was / were |
| Past participle | været | been |
| Imperative | vær! | be! |
Present: er
The present er links a subject to a noun, an adjective, or a place. One form, all subjects.
| Subject | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| jeg | er | jeg er træt |
| du | er | du er sød |
| han / hun | er | hun er læge |
| vi | er | vi er hjemme |
| de | er | de er glade |
Jeg er fra Danmark, men min kone er fra Norge.
I'm from Denmark, but my wife is from Norway.
Hvor er du? — Jeg er på arbejde.
Where are you? — I'm at work.
Past: var
The past is var ("was/were"), again identical for every subject.
Vi var trætte efter den lange tur.
We were tired after the long trip.
Hun var læge, før hun gik på pension.
She was a doctor before she retired.
Present perfect: har været
Here is a small trap worth flagging: although a handful of motion/change verbs take være in the perfect, være itself takes have as its perfect auxiliary. "I have been" is jeg har været, not *jeg er været.
Jeg har været i Italien tre gange.
I've been to Italy three times.
Har du nogensinde været til en dansk fest?
Have you ever been to a Danish party?
Past perfect: havde været
For the pluperfect, use the past of have plus the participle: havde været ("had been").
Vi havde været på vej i timevis, da bilen brød sammen.
We had been on the road for hours when the car broke down.
Imperative: vær!
The imperative is vær (note: no final -e). It is mostly found in set encouragements and instructions.
Vær nu sød og luk døren.
Be a dear and close the door.
Vær forsigtig — gulvet er vådt.
Be careful — the floor is wet.
Existential: der er ("there is / there are")
One of være's signature jobs is the existential construction der er, equivalent to English "there is / there are." Crucially — and unlike English — der er does not change for number. Whether one thing or many, it stays der er.
Der er en kat i haven.
There's a cat in the garden.
Der er mange turister i byen om sommeren.
There are many tourists in town in the summer.
Var der nogen hjemme, da du kom?
Was anyone home when you arrived?
For when to use der er versus det er ("it is"), see Der er vs Det er; for the expletive der more broadly, see Existential and Expletive Der.
The være-passive (resultant state)
Være + a past participle describes a resultant state — the condition something is in after an action, rather than the action itself.
Døren er låst, så vi kan ikke komme ind.
The door is locked, so we can't get in. (state, not the act of locking)
This contrasts with the blive-passive, which reports the event. The distinction is developed in The Være Passive (Resultant State).
Common collocations and fixed expressions
- der er — there is / there are
- være ved at
- infinitive — to be in the middle of doing
- være i gang (med) — to be underway / busy (with something)
- det er i orden — it's fine / no problem
- vær så god — here you go / you're welcome / go ahead (a workhorse politeness phrase)
Jeg er ved at lave mad — kan jeg ringe tilbage?
I'm in the middle of cooking — can I call you back?
Vær så god, her er din kaffe.
Here you go, here's your coffee.
A note for English (and Spanish) speakers
Danish has exactly one verb "to be." If you have studied Spanish, resist the urge to split it into a ser/estar pair: identity, location, mood, and temporary states are all være. Jeg er læge ("I'm a doctor"), jeg er hjemme ("I'm at home"), and jeg er træt ("I'm tired") all use the same verb.
The second thing to drill is the absence of agreement. English keeps three present forms (am/is/are); Danish keeps one (er). When you build a sentence, do not reach for a form that "matches" the subject — there is nothing to match.
A natural exchange
— Hvor er børnene? — De er nede i kælderen. — Er de stille? — Nej, de er aldrig stille!
— Where are the kids? — They're down in the basement. — Are they quiet? — No, they're never quiet!
Notice that er appears four times, for børnene (plural), de (plural), and in a question — and never changes.
Common mistakes
❌ Jeg estar træt, og jeg ser hjemme.
Incorrect — Danish has no ser/estar split; both 'states' use the one verb være → er.
✅ Jeg er træt, og jeg er hjemme.
I'm tired, and I'm at home.
❌ De ers glade.
Incorrect — there is no plural or agreeing form; er serves every subject.
✅ De er glade.
They're happy.
❌ Jeg er været i Spanien.
Incorrect — være forms its own perfect with have, not være.
✅ Jeg har været i Spanien.
I've been to Spain.
❌ Der er mange folk, og der ere én hund.
Incorrect — 'der er' never inflects for number; it's the same for one or many.
✅ Der er mange folk, og der er én hund.
There are many people, and there's one dog.
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- HaveA1 — Full reference for have ('to have') — principal parts, all core tenses in natural sentences, its role as the default perfect auxiliary, and the har du...? question opener.
- Danish Verbs: An OverviewA1 — A big-picture map of the Danish verb system — no person agreement, one present and one past form per verb, compound perfects, the passive, and modals.
- Choosing Have or Være in the PerfectB1 — Why most Danish verbs build the perfect with have, but verbs of motion and change of state use være — and how the same verb can take either.
- Existential and Expletive DerB1 — Der as the formal subject in existential and presentational sentences — Der er en kat i haven, Der kommer en bus, Der blev sunget — and why the logical subject after it must be indefinite.
- Der er vs Det erA2 — When to say der er ('there is') versus det er ('it is') in Danish — and how the choice can change the meaning of a sentence.
- The Være Passive (Resultant State)C1 — How 'være + past participle' describes the resulting state rather than the action — and why English 'is X-ed' splits into Danish være vs blive.