Open Questions with Question Words
While yes/no questions start with a verb, open questions start with a question word. Three common ones are:
- hvad (what)
- hvem (who)
- hvor (where)
The V2 Rule in Questions
Because of Danish's V2 rule, the verb always stays in the second position. When a question word takes the first position, the verb follows immediately after it, pushing the subject to the third position.
Danish does not use helper words like "do" or "are." For example, "What are you doing now?" translates literally to "What do you now?".
| What are you doing now? | Hvad laver du nu? |
| What is the woman buying in the shop? | Hvad køber kvinden i butikken? |
When asking about people, use hvem.
| Who works in the park? | Hvem arbejder i parken? |
| Who finds the dog? | Hvem finder hunden? |
When asking about locations, use hvor.
| Where is the station? | Hvor er stationen? |
| Where do I find the book? | Hvor finder jeg bogen? |
Questions with Prepositions
If a question involves a preposition like fra (from), the preposition usually drops to the very end of the sentence, just like in conversational English.
| Where do you come from? | Hvor kommer du fra? |
| Where does the family come from? | Hvor kommer familien fra? |
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