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Danish

### Splitting the negation

In simple sentences with one verb, you can use words like **ingen** (no/none) and **intet** (no/nothing) to state that you have zero of something. But Danish has a strict rule: if your sentence uses a modal verb (like *kan* or *vil*) or a compound verb tense (like *har købt*), you generally cannot use **ingen** or **intet** as the object. 

Instead, the negation must "split." You place **ikke** (not) after the first verb, and replace the negative word with **nogen** (any) for *en*-words and plurals, or **noget** (any) for *et*-words and uncountable nouns.

Let's look at uncountable nouns and *et*-words, which use **ikke ... noget**.

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### Splitting with *en*-words and plurals

When you are running out of *en*-words or plural items, you split the negation using **ikke ... nogen**.

Notice how the **ikke** takes its normal position after the first (conjugated) verb, while **nogen** stays directly with the noun later in the sentence.

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### Dropping the noun

Just like in English, you can drop the noun if it is already clear from the context. In this case, **noget** or **nogen** acts as a pronoun meaning "any." The exact same split rule applies: compound verbs and modal verbs force you to use **ikke ... noget/nogen** instead of a single negative word.

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Split negation (ikke ... nogen)

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
the toilet paper	toiletpapiret
We cannot find any toilet paper here.	Vi kan ikke finde noget toiletpapir her.
I have not bought any toilet paper today.	Jeg har ikke købt noget toiletpapir i dag.
the washing powder	vaskepulveret
We have not had any washing powder for a week.	Vi har ikke haft noget vaskepulver i en uge.
Can she not just borrow some washing powder from you?	Kan hun ikke bare låne noget vaskepulver af dig?
the dish brush	opvaskebørsten
We have not had any dish brush for a year.	Vi har ikke haft nogen opvaskebørste i et år.
The man will not use any dish brush.	Manden vil ikke bruge nogen opvaskebørste.
the dish soap	opvaskemidlet
I have not seen any dish soap in the kitchen.	Jeg har ikke set noget opvaskemiddel i køkkenet.
You should not use any dish soap for that pan.	Du skal ikke bruge noget opvaskemiddel til den pande.
the trash bag	skraldeposen
We have not had any trash bags for three days.	Vi har ikke haft nogen skraldeposer i tre dage.
I cannot find any trash bags for the kitchen.	Jeg kan ikke finde nogen skraldeposer til køkkenet.
the sponge	svampen
She has not used any sponge to wash the table.	Hun har ikke brugt nogen svamp til at vaske bordet.
We could not find any sponge in the bathroom.	Vi kunne ikke finde nogen svamp på badeværelset.
the cloth	kluden
You must not throw any cloth away.	Du må ikke smide nogen klud væk.
The boy has not seen any cloth for the floor.	Drengen har ikke set nogen klud til gulvet.
sold out	udsolgt
Everything is sold out, so we cannot buy anything.	Alt er udsolgt, så vi kan ikke købe noget.
The washing powder was sold out, so the woman has not bought any.	Vaskepulveret var udsolgt, så kvinden har ikke købt noget.
the can	dåsen
You should just not open any can now.	Du skal bare ikke åbne nogen dåse nu.
Is it your can? I have not opened any.	Er det din dåse? Jeg har ikke åbnet nogen.
the conditioner	balsammen
She has not had any conditioner for a month.	Hun har ikke haft nogen balsam i en måned.
He cannot find any conditioner in the cabinet.	Han kan ikke finde nogen balsam i skabet.
the sink	vasken
The plates are in the sink.	Tallerkenerne står i vasken.
The sink is full of water.	Vasken er fuld af vand.

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