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Danish

### The formal pronouns: De, Dem, and Deres

In modern Danish, the informal pronoun *du* (you) is the standard in almost every situation. However, you will still encounter the formal register in high-end customer service, professional correspondence, or when showing deep respect.

To address someone formally, Danish uses three pronouns:
- **De** (Subject "you")
- **Dem** (Object "you")
- **Deres** (Possessive "your")

**Important spelling rule:** You must always capitalize *De*, *Dem*, and *Deres*. If written in lowercase (*de*, *dem*, *deres*), they mean "they", "them", and "their".

Here is how *De* is used as the subject:

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Use *Dem* when the person addressed is the object or follows a preposition:

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For possession, use *Deres*. Unlike some possessive pronouns, *Deres* never changes form based on the noun's gender or number.

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### Polite and professional language

The formal register pairs well with polite vocabulary like *venligst* (kindly/please) to soften instructions, and formal words like *en forespørgsel* (an inquiry) and *at imødekomme* (to accommodate).

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Formal pronouns (De, Dem, Deres)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

phrase

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite nouns and the copula (-en, -et, er)

Indefinite articles (en, et)

Present tense verbs and word order (-r)

Plural subject pronouns (vi, I, de)

The verb to have (har)

Yes/No questions

Wh-questions (hvad, hvem, hvor)

Main clause negation (ikke)

Regular noun plurals (-er, -r)

Short noun plurals (-e)

Definite plurals (-ne)

Neuter adjective agreement (-t)

Plural adjective agreement (-e)

Adjectives with indefinite nouns

Adjectives with definite nouns (den / det / de ... -e)

Numbers 1 to 10

Numbers 11 to 20

Counting by tens to 100

Expressing age (er ... år)

Genitive possession (-s)

Singular possessives (min, din)

Third-person possessives (hans, hendes)

Plural possessives (vores, jeres, deres)

Reflexive possessives (sin, sit, sine)

Singular object pronouns (mig, dig)

Plural object pronouns (os, jer, dem)

The infinitive marker (at)

The modal verb can (kan)

The modal verb want to (vil)

The modal verb must (skal)

Negating modal verbs

Inversion after adverbs

Prepositions of position (i, på)

Prepositions of direction (til, fra)

Days of the week (mandag, tirsdag...)

Months of the year (januar, februar...)

Telling time (hel, halv, kvart)

Coordinating conjunctions (og, men, eller)

Subordinating conjunctions (at, fordi)

Subordinate clause negation

Commands (køb, vent, spis)

Zero-ending neuter plurals

The Human Body: Head and Face

The Human Body: Limbs and Torso

Personal Hygiene

Digital Life

Tools and Hardware

Emergency and Safety

Common Materials

Money and Payments

Short answers (Ja, det gør jeg)

Greetings (hej, godmorgen, farvel)

Thanks and apologies (tak, undskyld)

Jobs and nationalities (Hun er lærer)

Likes and dislikes (kan godt lide)

Somebody and something (nogen, noget, ingen)

How much? (meget, lidt, mere, nok)

With, by, over and under (med, ved, over, under)

Ordinals and dates (den første april)

Wishes for every occasion (tillykke, god bedring)

Times of day (om morgenen, om aftenen)

My day (stå op, gå i seng)

Past tense I: -ede and -te (i går)

My new hat (min nye hat, små, gamle)

Past tense II: irregular verbs (var, havde, gik)

Reacting in a conversation (nå, det lyder godt)

The family and irregular plurals (mænd, børn, fødder)

In the shop (Hvad koster det?)

Demonstratives: that and those (den, det, de)

Demonstratives: this and these (denne, dette, disse)

Adverbs of manner (-t)

Comparing things (-ere, end)

Superlative adjectives (-est)

Definite superlative adjectives (-este)

Irregular adjective comparison

Comparing long adjectives (mere, mest)

The reflexive pronoun (sig)

Reflexive verbs

Reciprocal verbs (-s)

Deponent verbs (-s)

Past opinions (syntes)

Present perfect tense with regular verbs (har... -et/-t)

Present perfect tense with irregular verbs (har...)

Present perfect tense with movement (er...)

Past perfect tense (havde / var...)

Question	Answer
you (formal subject)	De
What would you like to order?	Hvad vil De gerne bestille?
your (formal)	Deres
Have you forgotten your jacket?	Har De glemt Deres jakke?
you (formal object)	Dem
She would like to help you.	Hun vil gerne hjælpe Dem.
the client	klienten
He would like to speak with the client now.	Han vil gerne tale med klienten nu.
Are you the new client?	Er De den nye klient?
the suite	suiten
We can offer you the suite.	Vi kan tilbyde Dem suiten.
to upgrade	opgradere
The hotel would like to upgrade your room to the suite.	Hotellet vil gerne opgradere Deres værelse til suiten.
the stay	opholdet
You can upgrade the stay for a thousand kroner.	De kan opgradere opholdet for tusind kroner.
the service	servicen
How was the service in your room?	Hvordan var servicen på Deres værelse?
kindly	venligst
Kindly fill out this form about the service.	Udfyld venligst denne formular om servicen.
Kindly sit down in the armchair.	Sæt Dem venligst i lænestolen.
the inquiry	forespørgslen
We have received your inquiry.	Vi har modtaget Deres forespørgsel.
to accommodate	imødekomme
We hope that we can accommodate the inquiry.	Vi håber at vi kan imødekomme forespørgslen.
It is important to accommodate the client.	Det er vigtigt at imødekomme klienten.
We did it quickly for you.	Vi gjorde det hurtigt for Dem.
The receptionist handled it in a moment.	Receptionisten klarede det på et øjeblik.
My hungry guests waited for you in the restaurant.	Mine sultne gæster ventede på Dem i restauranten.
We had already upgraded the suite before you arrived.	Vi havde allerede opgraderet suiten før De ankom.
You just have to relax and enjoy your stay.	De skal bare slappe af og nyde Deres ophold.