Learn Hardcore Danish: Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen. - If she lived closer to the sea, she would swim every morning.

Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen.

If she lived closer to the sea, she would swim every morning.

Breakdown of Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen.

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Questions & Answers about Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen.

Why is boede (past tense) used if the meaning is about a present or future situation?

Danish uses the past tense in hvis-clauses to mark an unreal or hypothetical situation, just like English:

Hvis hun boede tættere på havet …
= If she lived closer to the sea … (but she doesn’t)

The past tense boede signals that this condition is contrary to fact.

If you used the present tense bor, it would sound like a real or possible situation, more like:

Hvis hun bor tættere på havet, svømmer hun hver morgen.
= If she lives closer to the sea, she (actually) swims every morning / whenever that’s the case.

What is the difference between vil and ville here? Could I say vil hun svømme instead?

Vil is present tense; ville is past tense of the same verb and often corresponds to English would:

vil ≈ wants / is going to / will
ville ≈ would (or wanted to in other contexts)

In unreal conditionals like this, Danish usually pairs past in the hvis-clause with ville in the main clause:

Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen.
If she lived closer to the sea, she would swim every morning.

Using vil here would clash with the unreal feel created by boede, and would sound odd in standard Danish. For a real possibility, you’d change the verb in the hvis-clause as well:

Hvis hun bor tættere på havet, vil hun svømme hver morgen.
(If she (actually) lives closer, then she will swim every morning.)

Why is it ville hun svømme and not hun ville svømme after the comma?

This is Danish verb-second (V2) word order.

In a main clause, the finite verb must be in second position. The first position can be almost anything: subject, adverb, or even a whole subordinate clause.

Here, the whole hvis-clause comes first:

First position: Hvis hun boede tættere på havet
Second position (finite verb): ville
Then subject: hun
Rest of the clause: svømme hver morgen

So we get:

Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen.

If you start with the subject instead, you don’t get inversion:

Hun ville svømme hver morgen, hvis hun boede tættere på havet.

Both are correct; the difference is just which clause you put first.

Why is it tættere and not something like mere tæt?

Tæt is an adjective meaning close. Its regular comparative form is tættere (closer), and that is what is used in standard Danish:

tæt → tættere → tættest
close → closer → closest

You might sometimes hear mere tæt, but for short, common adjectives like tæt, the comparative with -ere (tættere) is the natural and idiomatic form.

You could also use nær (near) with its comparative nærmere:

Hvis hun boede nærmere havet, … → a bit more formal/literary.

Why is the preposition på used in tættere på havet? Would ved havet also work?

The expression tæt på noget is a fixed, very common pattern in Danish:

tæt på havet = close to the sea
tættere på havet = closer to the sea

Here, på belongs to the phrase tæt på, not specifically to havet.

You can use ved with bo for “live by the sea”:

Hun bor ved havet. = She lives by the sea.

But when you say tæt(tere) på, you normally keep på:

tættere på havet (most natural)
tættere ved havet is possible but much less common and sounds more like a direct combination of “closer” + “by the sea”.

So in this exact sentence, tættere på havet is the most idiomatic.

What is the difference between hvis and når? Why is it Hvis hun boede and not Når hun boede?

hvis = if (a real or unreal condition; it may or may not be true)
når = when/whenever (something expected or habitual)

Examples:

Hvis det regner, bliver jeg hjemme.
If it rains, I’ll stay home. (condition)
Når det regner, bliver jeg hjemme.
When(ever) it rains, I stay home. (habit or expected event)

In your sentence, the condition is unreal/imagined (she does not live closer to the sea), so hvis is correct:

Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, …
If she lived closer to the sea, …

Using når here would not fit, because we’re not talking about a recurring or expected situation.

Is the comma after havet necessary in Danish?

Yes. In modern standard Danish punctuation, when a subordinate clause comes first and is followed by a main clause, you must put a comma between them:

Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen.

This applies regardless of whether you use the “old” or “new” comma system. So the comma here is not optional; it’s required.

Why is it hver morgen and not hvert morgen?

The choice between hver and hvert depends on the grammatical gender of the noun:

Common gender (en-words): hver
e.g. hver dag, hver mandag, hver morgen
Neuter (et-words): hvert
e.g. hvert år, hvert minut

Morgen is an en-word (en morgen), so the correct form is:

hver morgen = every morning

Why is boede used and not levede for “lived”?

Danish has two different verbs that both translate as to live in English:

at bo = to live/reside somewhere (your place of residence)
at leve = to be alive / to live (one’s life, lifestyle)

In this sentence, we’re talking about where she lives (resides) in relation to the sea, so boede (past tense of bo) is the correct verb:

Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, …
= If she lived (resided) closer to the sea, …

If you said Hvis hun levede tættere på havet, it would sound odd, as if you were talking about her way of existing rather than her address.

Do I have to repeat hun in the second clause, or could I just say ville svømme hver morgen?

You have to repeat hun. Danish does not normally drop subject pronouns the way some other languages do.

So:

Correct: Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen.
Incorrect: *Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville svømme hver morgen.

Each finite verb ville needs an explicit subject (hun) in its own clause.

Can hver morgen go earlier in the clause, like ville hun hver morgen svømme?

Yes, Danish allows some flexibility with adverbial placement. All of these are grammatical, with slightly different emphasis:

Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme hver morgen.
Neutral, very natural.
Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun hver morgen svømme.
Slightly marked; emphasizes every morning a bit more.
Hvis hun boede tættere på havet, ville hun svømme om morgenen hver dag.
More explicit, but wordier.

The version in your sentence (… ville hun svømme hver morgen) is the most standard and idiomatic for everyday use.

How is the sentence pronounced? Any traps for English speakers?

Approximate, slowed-down pronunciation (in a fairly standard accent):

Hvis ≈ vees (the h is silent; v is like English v)
hun ≈ hoon (short u like in French lune, not like English hun)
boede ≈ BOH-ðə / BOH-ə (long o, the d is soft, often almost disappears)
tættere ≈ TET-ə (short e as in bed; final -re is reduced)
på ≈ po with a long, open o (a bit like British paw)
havet ≈ HAH-vəð / HAH-əð (long a; v and d are quite soft)
ville ≈ VIL-ə (short i as in sit; final -e is a light schwa)
svømme ≈ SVØM-ə (the ø is like French peu; again a schwa at the end)
hver ≈ vair (kind of between vare and vair; h is pronounced)
morgen ≈ MOR-ən (long o; g is silent here; -en reduced)

Main pitfalls:

Silent or very soft d, g, and sometimes v.
The hv- in hvis is pronounced just v.
The vowel ø in svømme and æ in tættere don’t exist in English; they need practice.