Substituting actions with gøre det
When you want to refer back to an action you have just mentioned without repeating the entire phrase, English often uses "do it" or "do so". Danish works in exactly the same way using the phrase gøre det.
| The teacher asks the student to read the book, and she does it. | Læreren beder eleven om at læse bogen, og hun gør det. |
You can conjugate the verb gøre (to do) to match whatever tense the sentence requires, whether it is the past tense (gjorde) or the present perfect with a past participle (har gjort).
| He promised to clean up, but he never did it. | Han lovede at rydde op, men han gjorde det aldrig. |
| Are you going to sell the house, or have you already done it? | Skal I sælge huset, eller har I allerede gjort det? |
Using gøre det with infinitives
When the substituted action follows a modal verb (like vil, skal, or tør) or another verb that takes an infinitive, you will use the infinitive form gøre det or at gøre det.
| We often travel south, and we will do it again. | Vi rejser ofte sydpå, og vi vil gøre det igen. |
| I gave her the order, but she refused to do it. | Jeg gav hende ordren, men hun nægtede at gøre det. |
Describing substituted actions
Because gøre det acts as a convenient shorthand for a longer verb phrase, it is frequently paired with adverbs to describe how or how often an action is performed.
| The woman helps, but she does it reluctantly. | Kvinden hjælper, men hun gør det nødigt. |
| She encourages the boy to do the exercise, and he usually does it. | Hun tilskynder drengen til at lave øvelsen, og han gør det sædvanligvis. |
By substituting the action, you can easily stack multiple adverbs to give a detailed description without making the sentence feel repetitive or heavy.
| The man complains frequently and persistently, but he usually does so in vain. | Manden klager hyppigt og vedholdende, men han gør det sædvanligvis forgæves. |
