Questions & Answers about Har lægen nøglen? — Nej, det har han ikke.
Why does the question start with Har instead of a word for 'Does'?
In English, we use helper words like 'do' or 'does' to ask questions, as in 'Does the doctor have...'. Danish doesn't do this. Instead, you just swap the subject and the verb. So, 'The doctor has' simply becomes Har lægen (Has the doctor).
How do we know it means 'the doctor' and 'the key' if there is no separate word for 'the'?
In Danish, 'the' isn't usually a separate word that goes before the noun. Instead, you add an ending to the word itself. Because læge (doctor) and nøgle (key) are both 'en' words, they take the suffix -n to become lægen (the doctor) and nøglen (the key).
Why is the word det in the answer Nej, det har han ikke?
In Danish short answers, you can't just leave the verb hanging like we do in English ('No, he does not'). You need a placeholder word to represent the thing you are talking about. The word det (it/that) steps in to replace the idea of having the key. The phrase literally translates to 'No, that has he not.'
Why is the word order det har han ikke rather than det han har ikke?
This is because of the Danish 'V2 rule,' which means the verb must always be the second idea in a main sentence. Since the placeholder det takes the first spot, the verb har must come immediately after it, pushing the subject han to the third spot.