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Danish

### Reporting the Past: Sequence of Tenses

When we share news, spread rumors, or report what someone else said, we typically use a subordinate clause starting with **at** (that).

In Danish, just like in English, if the main reporting verb is in the past tense—such as **påstod** (claimed) or **indrømmede** (admitted)—the verb inside the **at**-clause must also shift to the past tense to match it.

For example, if someone originally said "The rumor *is* a lie," you would shift it to "He claimed that the rumor *was* a lie":

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### Pronoun Shifts and Modals

When converting direct speech into reported speech, remember to adjust the pronouns to reflect the new perspective. If a thief says, "I stole the money," you report it as "He admitted that *he* stole the money."

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Modal verbs also follow the tense shift rule. For example, if a customer promises "I *will* not complain" (**vil**), it shifts to the past tense **ville** (would) when reported:

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### Don't Forget the Adverb Rule!

Because reported speech relies on **at**-clauses, it triggers the subordinate clause word order rule. 

Any central adverbs—like **ikke** (not), **aldrig** (never), or **også** (also)—must be placed directly **before** the verb inside the **at**-clause. Notice how **aldrig** steps in front of the verbs **afslørede** and **fortalte** below:

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Reported speech

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
to claim	påstå
the rumor	rygtet
the lie	løgnen
He claimed that the rumor was a lie.	Han påstod at rygtet var en løgn.
to deny	benægte
The woman denied that she knew the rumor.	Kvinden benægtede at hun kendte rygtet.
the journalist	journalisten
to reveal	afsløre
the interview	interviewet
The journalist revealed the secret in the interview.	Journalisten afslørede hemmeligheden i interviewet.
The journalist claimed that the boss never revealed the truth.	Journalisten påstod at chefen aldrig afslørede sandheden.
to admit	indrømme
They admitted that it was a big lie.	De indrømmede at det var en stor løgn.
to promise	love
to complain	klage
The customer promised that she would not complain.	Kunden lovede at hun ikke ville klage.
We complained because the food was cold.	Vi klagede fordi maden var kold.
The teenager admitted that he never told the truth.	Teenageren indrømmede at han aldrig fortalte sandheden.
He admitted that he also heard the rumor.	Han indrømmede at han også hørte rygtet.
The man claimed that he was sick, but I thought that he worked.	Manden påstod at han var syg, men jeg troede at han arbejdede.
The journalist thought that the interview was very exciting.	Journalisten syntes at interviewet var meget spændende.
The thief admitted that he stole the money.	Tyven indrømmede at han stjal pengene.
The customer complained, and the chef promised that the food was ready.	Kunden klagede, og kokken lovede at maden var klar.
The girl denied the rumor.	Pigen benægtede rygtet.
She revealed the truth to the journalist.	Hun afslørede sandheden for journalisten.
They believed that the rumor was false.	De troede at rygtet var falsk.