Bare singulars

Bare Singulars for Sports and Games

When talking about playing a recognized sport or game, Danish drops the article from the noun completely. This means no en or et before the word and no definite endings.

You are describing the general activity rather than a specific physical object, so the noun remains bare.

The boy is going to play handball later.
Drengen skal spille håndbold senere.
My daughter loves playing tennis.
Min datter elsker at spille tennis.
They usually play chess in the evening.
De plejer at spille skak om aftenen.

Organized Activities with "at gå til"

If you attend a regular class, club, or organized hobby, use the phrase at gå til (literally "to go to") followed by the bare singular form of the activity.

The girl goes to gymnastics every Monday.
Pigen går til gymnastik hver mandag.
We go horse riding on the weekend.
Vi går til ridning i weekenden.
The woman loves going to pottery.
Kvinden elsker at gå til keramik.

Starting a New Activity

The same pattern applies when you sign up for a new organized hobby. Instead of at gå til, use at begynde til (to start/begin) with the bare singular.

My cousin is going to start scouts tomorrow.
Min fætter skal begynde til spejder i morgen.
She is going to start boxing tonight.
Hun skal begynde til boksning i aften.
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