Many Danish verbs do not stand alone — they reach for a particular preposition the way a hand reaches for a familiar tool. You vente *på bussen (wait *for the bus), tænker *på din mor (think *of your mother), glæder dig *til ferien (look forward *to the holiday). The catch is that the preposition is lexically stored with the verb, not chosen by logic, and it very often differs from the English one. The only reliable strategy is to learn the verb and its preposition as a single unit. This page gives you the highest-frequency pairs and a clear-eyed account of why guessing fails.
The preposition is part of the word
It is tempting to think there must be a rule — that "waiting" naturally takes "for," "thinking" naturally takes "of." There isn't, and it doesn't. The same Danish preposition på covers English "for" (vente på), "of/about" (tænke på), and "in" (stole på, trust in). Conversely, a single English preposition scatters across several Danish ones: English "for" lands on på (vente på, wait for), on om (bede om, ask for), and on efter (lede efter, look for) — and only sometimes on the look-alike for (sørge for, see for to). There is no mapping you can compute; there is only the pairing you have learned.
Jeg venter på dig nede ved indgangen.
I'm waiting for you down by the entrance.
Jeg tænker tit på de somre, vi tilbragte i Skagen.
I often think of the summers we spent in Skagen.
Hun stoler fuldstændig på sin storesøster.
She trusts her big sister completely.
High-frequency verb + preposition pairs
These are the pairs you meet daily. The right-hand column flags where Danish and English diverge — which is most of the time.
| Danish | English | Divergence |
|---|---|---|
| tænke på | think of / about | på, not "om" |
| vente på | wait for | på, not "for" |
| glæde sig til | look forward to | til + reflexive |
| bede om | ask for | om, not "for" |
| holde af | be fond of | af, "hold of" |
| bestå af | consist of | af = "of" (matches) |
| afhænge af | depend on | af, not "on" |
| regne med | count on / expect | med, "reckon with" |
| stole på | rely on / trust | på = "on" (matches) |
| sørge for | see to / ensure | for, "sorrow for" |
| tro på | believe in | på, not "in" |
| høre om | hear about | om = "about" (matches) |
| lede efter | look for / search | efter, not "for" |
| deltage i | take part in | i = "in" (matches) |
| bidrage til | contribute to | til = "to" (matches) |
A few line up with English (bestå af, deltage i, bidrage til), which lulls you into trusting transfer — and then vente på, bede om, lede efter punish it. The safe assumption is divergence by default.
Here are several of the trickier pairs in natural use:
Jeg glæder mig vildt til at se dig igen til sommer.
I'm really looking forward to seeing you again this summer.
Må jeg bede om regningen?
Could I ask for the bill?
Hele planen afhænger af, om vejret holder.
The whole plan depends on whether the weather holds.
Jeg har ledt efter mine nøgler overalt.
I've been looking for my keys everywhere.
When the object is a clause: the placeholder det
When the object of such a verb is a whole at-clause or an infinitive, Danish frequently inserts a placeholder det after the preposition, because a preposition wants a noun-like object and a clause is the wrong shape on its own.
Jeg regner med, at du kommer til festen.
I'm counting on you coming to the party.
Held og lykke afhænger af det.
Good luck depends on it.
Vi sørger for, at alle får noget at spise.
We'll see to it that everyone gets something to eat.
This at-clause-after-preposition pattern is itself a marker of advanced control; learners who omit the preposition entirely (*jeg regner du kommer) sound noticeably off.
Preposition stranding in questions and relatives
When you question or relativise the object, the preposition does not travel with it to the front. It is stranded, left sitting at the end of the clause — exactly like colloquial English "What are you waiting for?" but obligatory in Danish, with no formal "for what" alternative.
Hvad venter du på?
What are you waiting for?
Hvem tænker du på?
Who are you thinking of?
Det er en ting, jeg virkelig glæder mig til.
That's something I'm really looking forward to.
Reflexive verbs that govern a preposition
A subset of these verbs carries a reflexive sig and a fixed preposition, and both must be present: glæde sig til (look forward to), interessere sig for (be interested in), bekymre sig om (worry about), vænne sig til (get used to).
Hun interesserer sig meget for gammel arkitektur.
She's very interested in old architecture.
Du skal ikke bekymre dig om regningen — den tager jeg.
Don't worry about the bill — I'll get it.
Dropping the reflexive (*hun interesserer for) or the preposition (*hun interesserer sig arkitektur) both break the construction. Learn all three pieces together: reflexive + verb + preposition.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jeg venter for bussen.
Incorrect — direct transfer of English 'wait for'.
✅ Jeg venter på bussen.
I'm waiting for the bus.
English "for" does not become Danish for here. Vente governs på.
❌ Hvad tænker du om lige nu?
Incorrect — this asks for an opinion ('what do you think about X'), not what's on your mind.
✅ Hvad tænker du på lige nu?
What are you thinking about right now?
Tænke på = have on one's mind. Tænke om exists but means "have an opinion about," a different verb-frame entirely.
❌ Jeg leder for mine briller.
Incorrect — 'look for' is not 'lede for'.
✅ Jeg leder efter mine briller.
I'm looking for my glasses.
Lede governs efter, never for. English "search for" misleads you.
❌ Jeg glæder til ferien.
Incorrect — glæde here is reflexive and needs sig/mig.
✅ Jeg glæder mig til ferien.
I'm looking forward to the holiday.
This verb takes both a reflexive and til. Omitting mig breaks it.
❌ Alt afhænger på dig nu.
Incorrect — English 'depend on' transfers the wrong preposition.
✅ Alt afhænger af dig nu.
Everything depends on you now.
Afhænge governs af, not på, despite English "depend on."
Key Takeaways
- The preposition is stored with the verb; it is not derivable from meaning and usually differs from English.
- Default to divergence: assume the Danish preposition is not the English one until you have confirmed the pair.
- With clausal objects, insert the placeholder det / use at-clauses after the preposition.
- Danish strands prepositions (Hvad venter du på?) and has no pied-piping alternative.
- Reflexive verbs need all three parts: sig
- verb + preposition (glæde sig til).
Now practice Danish
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Start learning Danish→Related Topics
- Verb + Preposition ReferenceB2 — An alphabetical reference of the high-frequency Danish verb + preposition pairs where the Danish preposition differs from the one English would use — bede om, vente på, tænke på, glæde sig til, and more.
- Adjective + PrepositionC1 — Danish adjectives that govern a fixed preposition — god til, glad for, bange for, enig i vs enig med — where the preposition rarely matches English.
- Phrasal Verbs and ParticlesB1 — Danish verb + particle combinations, the stress rule that distinguishes a separable phrasal verb from a verb + preposition, and the most common particles and their meanings.
- Collocations: An OverviewB2 — Why Danish pairs specific light verbs (tage, gøre, få, lave, holde) with specific nouns, and how to learn these fixed combinations instead of translating word-for-word.