Learn Hardcore Danish: Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte. - My friend arrives exactly at eight o'clock.

Common gender nouns use en as the indefinite article and min as the possessive.
- en ven (a friend) → min ven (my friend)
Neuter gender nouns use et as the indefinite article and mit as the possessive.
- et hus (a house) → mit hus (my house)

Because ven is a common gender noun (en ven), the correct possessive is min, not mit.

Why is there no article like “a” or “the” before ven?

In Danish, when you use a possessive pronoun (min, mit, mine, din, hans, hendes, etc.), you do not use an article.

So you say:

min ven (my friend) – not *min en ven or *min vennen
hans bil (his car) – not *hans en bil or *hans bilen

The possessive already contains the idea of “the/that” in this context, so the article is unnecessary and ungrammatical.

Is ven gender‑neutral, or does it imply a male friend?

ven is grammatically common gender and is often interpreted as male, especially if there is a need to distinguish gender. Traditionally:

en ven = a (male) friend
en veninde = a (female) friend

However, in modern casual speech, some people use ven more neutrally (especially for “friend” in general, not a romantic partner). If you specifically want to say “female friend,” veninde is the normal word.

Why is kommer (present tense) used to talk about the future?

Danish often uses the simple present tense to talk about future events, especially when the time is clearly indicated:

Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte.
= My friend will come exactly at eight o’clock.
Jeg tager til København i morgen.
= I am going / will go to Copenhagen tomorrow.

You don’t need a separate “will” word like English. The present tense + a time expression (klokken otte, i morgen, næste uge, etc.) is enough to show it’s about the future.

Could you also say Min ven vil komme præcis klokken otte?

You can, but it’s not the most natural way to express a simple planned future time.

vil komme (will come) is usually used when talking about:
- willingness or intention: Jeg vil komme tidligere (I want/intend to come earlier)
- prediction or more speculative future

For a scheduled or planned future event, Danish normally just uses kommer + time:

Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte. (natural, standard)
Min ven vil komme præcis klokken otte. (possible, but can sound like a deliberate intention/emphasis, not just a neutral statement of schedule)

What does præcis mean here, and can it go in a different place?

præcis means exactly / precisely. It emphasizes punctuality:

Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte.
= My friend comes exactly at eight.

You can move præcis a bit without changing the meaning much:

Min ven kommer klokken otte præcis. (also fine)
Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte i aften. (still fine)

But you don’t normally put it between kommer and min ven, or before the verb:

*Min ven præcis kommer klokken otte. (wrong)
*Præcis min ven kommer klokken otte. (wrong in this meaning)

In neutral sentences like this, præcis usually comes directly before or after the time expression.

What is the function of klokken in klokken otte? Why not just otte?

klokken literally means “the clock”, but in time expressions it works like “o’clock” in English.

klokken otte = eight o’clock
klokken ni = nine o’clock
klokken halv seks = 5:30 (literally “half six”)

You generally need klokken (or its abbreviation kl.) when stating a clock time:

Mødet starter klokken otte.
Toget kører kl. 19.30.

Just saying otte on its own would be incomplete or unclear in most contexts.

How do you pronounce Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte?

Here’s a rough guide using English-friendly approximations (Danish pronunciation is quite different from spelling):

Min ≈ “meen” (short, not as long as English “mean”)
ven ≈ “ven” (like English “then” but with a v)
kommer ≈ roughly “KOM-mer”, but:
- o like in “lot” (British English)
- final -er is often reduced, sounding a bit like “komma” → [ˈkʌmɐ]
præcis ≈ “pra-SEES”:
- præ similar to “prae” with an æ like “cat”
- stress is on -cis: [pʁaˈsiːs]
klokken ≈ “KLOK-en”:
- o like in “lot”
- final -ken is reduced: [ˈklʌgən] or [ˈklɒgən]
otte ≈ “OT-uh”:
- first syllable like British “odd”
- final e is a very short “uh”: [ˈʌtə] / [ˈɔtə]

Full IPA (standard-ish Danish):
[ˈmiːn ˈvɛn ˈkʰʌmɐ pʁaˈsiːs ˈklʌgən ˈʌtə]

Don’t worry about being perfect; focus on reducing the final -er / -en / -e endings and not pronouncing every letter too clearly.

What’s the difference between kommer and ankommer or kommer til?

They are related but used differently:

kommer = comes / is coming / will come
- General verb of arriving/coming.
- Min ven kommer klokken otte.
ankommer = arrives (more formal, often about transport)
- Common with trains, planes, etc.: Toget ankommer klokken otte.
kommer til can mean:
1. arrive at / come to (a place):
  - Vi kommer til København klokken otte. (We arrive in Copenhagen at eight.)
2. end up doing / happen to:
  - Du kommer til at fortryde det. (You will end up regretting it.)

In your sentence, kommer is the normal and correct choice.

Can I put the time phrase first, like Klokken otte kommer min ven præcis?

You can put the time phrase first, but you need to respect Danish V2 word order (the verb must be in the second position):

Correct options:

Klokken otte kommer min ven (præcis).
(Time) + (verb) + (subject) + (adverb)
Klokken otte kommer min ven præcis. is grammatically fine, but most speakers would probably say:
- Klokken otte kommer min ven.
- Klokken otte kommer min ven præcis. (with slightly heavy emphasis on præcis)

Your original sentence, with neutral word order, is:

Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte.
(Subject) + (verb) + (adverb) + (time)

The key rule: the finite verb (kommer) must be second, regardless of what you put first.

How would the sentence change if I talk about several friends instead of one?

You need to change both the possessive and the noun to plural:

Singular: Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte.
= My (one) friend comes exactly at eight.
Plural: Mine venner kommer præcis klokken otte.
= My friends come exactly at eight.

Changes:

min → mine (possessive for plural nouns)
ven → venner (plural form of “friend”)

The verb kommer stays the same; Danish verbs do not change form between singular and plural.

Does Danish capitalize ven or klokken like English sometimes capitalizes nouns?

No. In Danish, you only capitalize:

The first word of a sentence
Proper names (people, countries, cities, etc.)
Certain abbreviations and acronyms

So in the middle of a sentence, you write:

ven, not Ven
klokken, not Klokken

Your sentence is correctly capitalized as:

Min ven kommer præcis klokken otte.