Reciprocal Verbs
In Danish, add -s to the end of a verb to show that people are doing the action to each other (reciprocal verbs). These verbs generally look exactly the same in both the infinitive and the present tense.
For example, mødes (to meet each other) and ses (to see each other):
| My partner and I often meet in the city. | Min kæreste og jeg mødes ofte i byen. |
| See you tomorrow! | Vi ses i morgen! |
Relationships and Arguing
The reciprocal verb skændes means to argue with each other:
| They always argue about their relationship. | De skændes altid om deres forhold. |
When things are going well, a couple (parret) might be looking forward to a wedding (brylluppet) instead:
| The couple is looking forward to the wedding. | Parret glæder sig til brylluppet. |
Going Together
Danish has a specific reciprocal verb for going somewhere together or accompanying one another: følges.
| Should we go home together? | Skal vi følges hjem? |
Kissing and Fighting
Physical interactions are naturally reciprocal. Adding -s to kysse (to kiss) gives you kysses (to kiss each other).
Similarly, the verb for fighting is slås. It is based on the verb slå (to hit), so slås essentially means hitting each other!
| They are kissing in the cinema. | De kysses i biografen. |
| Why are they fighting? | Hvorfor slås de? |
