Learn Hardcore Danish: Jeg inviterer Dem til festen i weekenden.

Dem here is the formal object pronoun meaning you (polite). It’s capitalized to distinguish it from dem meaning them (3rd‑person plural). Capitalizing the polite forms (De/Dem/Deres) is traditional and helps avoid ambiguity in writing, even though many Danes don’t use the polite pronouns much anymore.

When would a Dane actually use De/Dem instead of du/dig?

Today, du/dig is the norm in almost all situations. De/Dem is reserved for:

Very formal letters, official notices, or customer-facing writing in some businesses.
Addressing much older strangers if you want to sound extremely respectful (risking sounding stiff or old-fashioned). Using De/Dem in everyday conversation can feel distant or archaic. Most Danes prefer du.

Is Dem singular or plural?

Historically, De/Dem could address either one person politely or a group politely. So Dem can be singular or plural, depending on context. For informal plural, use jer (object) with I (subject). For informal singular, use dig (object) with du (subject).

What’s the informal version of this sentence?

Singular informal: Jeg inviterer dig til festen i weekenden.
Plural informal: Jeg inviterer jer til festen i weekenden. A very natural, polite way to phrase an invitation is: Jeg vil gerne invitere dig/jer til festen i weekenden.
You can also ask: Har du/Har I lyst til at komme til festen i weekenden?

Why does the verb end in -er (inviterer)?

That’s the regular present tense ending. Danish present tense is used for:

Present simple: “I invite”
Present progressive: “I am inviting”
Near future/scheduled future: “I’m inviting (for this weekend)” Basic forms for this verb:
Infinitive: at invitere
Present: inviterer
Past: inviterede
Past participle: inviteret (e.g., har inviteret)

Does Danish have a separate progressive tense like English “I am inviting”?

No. The simple present (inviterer) often covers both simple and progressive meanings. If you must stress the ongoing process, you can say er i gang med at:
Jeg er i gang med at invitere folk.
But for making an invitation, Jeg inviterer… or Jeg vil gerne invitere… is what you want.

Why use til after invitere? Could I use for or leave the preposition out?

With this verb, the pattern is invitere nogen til noget (“invite someone to something”). You shouldn’t use for here, and you can’t drop the preposition when you mention the event.

Inviting to an event: invitere nogen til festen
Location at the event: på festen means “at the party” (location), not the act of inviting to it.

Why is it til festen and not til en fest or til fest?

til festen = “to the party” (a specific, known party; hence the definite ending -en on fest).
til en fest = “to a party” (some unspecified party).
til fest (no article) = “to party/partying” in general or “to a party” in a generic sense (“gå til fest” = go to a party/partying).
Danish marks definiteness with a suffix on the noun: fest → festen (“the party”).

What exactly does i weekenden mean? Is it “this weekend”?

Usually, yes—i weekenden is most often understood as “this/coming weekend” in present-time contexts. It can mean “during the weekend” more generally if context makes that clear. To be explicit, you can say:

i næste weekend = next weekend
i sidste weekend = last weekend Note the preposition: Danes say i weekenden, not “at the weekend.”

Why is it i weekenden and not på weekenden?

Because Danish uses specific prepositions with time expressions:

i weekenden (in/this weekend)
på lørdag/på søndag/på fredag (on Saturday/Sunday/Friday)
i dag, i morgen, i aften For habitual actions, you might see:
om søndagen (on Sundays, habitually)
i weekenderne (on weekends, habitually—plural)

Can I change the word order of the time/place phrases?

Yes. The given sentence has a neutral order with place before time:

Jeg inviterer Dem til festen i weekenden. If you want to emphasize the time, front it; remember verb-second (V2) word order:
I weekenden inviterer jeg Dem til festen. Putting i weekenden between the verb and the object (e.g., “Jeg inviterer Dem i weekenden til festen”) is possible but tends to sound less natural.

Does i weekenden describe when the party is, or when I’m inviting?

As written, most readers will take i weekenden to modify the party (i.e., the party is on the weekend).
If you want the time to modify the inviting (you plan to issue the invitation this weekend), put the time at the front:

I weekenden inviterer jeg Dem til festen.

Any quick pronunciation tips for the tricky words?

Very rough guides (Standard Danish; regional variation exists):

Jeg ≈ “yai” (short)
inviterer ≈ in-vi-TEH-rah (final -er sounds like a soft, unstressed “-uh/-ah”)
Dem ≈ “dehm” (like English “them” but with a clearer initial D)
festen ≈ FEH-stn (the last syllable is quite reduced)
weekenden ≈ VEE-ken-den (Danish “w” is pronounced like a v)

Is there a more idiomatic way to phrase an invitation?

Yes, common and friendly options include:

Jeg vil gerne invitere dig/jer til festen i weekenden. (polite and natural)
Har du/Har I lyst til at komme til festen i weekenden? (Do you feel like coming…?)
Du/I er velkommen/velkomne til festen i weekenden. (You’re welcome to come…)
Using De/Dem in these patterns makes them very formal; most of the time, du/dig or I/jer is better.