Dropping the Conjunction at
In English, we often drop the word "that" in everyday speech. For example, instead of saying "I think that he shared the post," we just say "I think he shared the post." You can do the exact same thing in Danish by dropping the subordinating conjunction at.
This omission is very common in informal Danish, such as in spoken conversations or when chatting in online forums. You will frequently see it after verbs expressing thoughts, statements, or feelings—such as tro (think/believe), sige (say), synes (think/feel), and vide (know).
| I think he shared the post. | Jeg tror han delte opslaget. |
| She says she has updated the profile. | Hun siger hun har opdateret profilen. |
| I know she is exaggerating. | Jeg ved hun overdriver. |
Word Order in at-less Clauses
Even though the conjunction at is hidden, the clause it introduces is still a subordinate clause. This means the rules for subordinate word order still apply. Specifically, central adverbs like ikke (not) or snart (soon) must come before the verb in the clause, rather than after it.
Notice the placement of snart and ikke before the verbs in the following sentences:
| We hope you delete the comment soon. | Vi håber du snart sletter kommentaren. |
| We hope the debate is not deleted. | Vi håber debatten ikke slettes. |
More Forum Drama
Here are a few more examples of dropping at while discussing online debates and social media threads:
| I believe they blocked the user from the forum. | Jeg tror de blokerede brugeren fra forummet. |
| Have you seen she has deleted the reaction? | Har du set hun har slettet reaktionen? |
| He says he updates the forum every day. | Han siger han opdaterer forummet hver dag. |