Forming Yes/No Questions
In English, we often use helper words like "do" or "does" to ask a question (for example, "Do you speak Danish?"). Danish makes things much simpler! To turn a standard statement into a yes/no question, you simply move the verb to the very beginning of the sentence. This is known as verb-initial word order.
There is no word for "do" in these questions. Instead, "Do you speak Danish?" translates directly as "Speak you Danish?".
| Do you speak Danish? | Taler du dansk? |
| Does the doctor understand English? | Forstår lægen engelsk? |
| Does the teacher help the child? | Hjælper læreren barnet? |
Answering with Yes and No
To answer these questions, you will use ja (yes) or nej (no). After stating yes or no, you return to the normal word order where the subject comes before the verb.
| Yes, I speak Danish. | Ja, jeg taler dansk. |
| Yes, she helps the child. | Ja, hun hjælper barnet. |
Saying "Not"
When answering in the negative, you will need the word ikke (not). In a simple statement, ikke usually comes directly after the main verb.
| not | ikke |
| No, he does not understand English. | Nej, han forstår ikke engelsk. |
Applying the Rule to All Verbs
This simple verb-first rule applies to all Danish verbs in the present tense, including "to be" (er) and "to have" (har).
| Is the teacher here now? | Er læreren her nu? |
| No, she is not here. | Nej, hun er ikke her. |
| Does the doctor have the key? | Har lægen nøglen? |
| No, he does not have the key. | Nej, han har ikke nøglen. |