Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.

I ask whether he is coming tonight.

Breakdown of Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.

• jeg: I
• han: he
• komme: to come
• i aften: tonight
• spørge: to ask
• om: whether

Questions & Answers about Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.

Why is om used here, and what does it mean in this sentence?

In this sentence, om introduces an indirect yes/no question:

• Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.
  = I’m asking whether/if he is coming tonight.

So here om means “whether / if” in the sense of uncertainty about yes or no. It’s used after verbs like:

• spørge (to ask)
• vide (to know)
• tvivle på (to doubt)
• overveje (to consider)

Example:

• Jeg ved ikke, om han kommer.
  I don’t know whether he is coming.

Could you say Jeg spørger, hvis han kommer i aften instead of om?

No, Jeg spørger, hvis han kommer i aften is wrong in this meaning.

• om = if / whether (introducing an indirect question)
• hvis = if in a conditional sense (on condition that / in case), not as “whether”.

Correct:

• Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.
  I’m asking whether he is coming tonight.

Different meaning with hvis:

• Jeg spørger ham, hvis han kommer i aften.
  I will ask him if he comes tonight (on the condition that he comes).

So:

• Use om after spørge, vide, være i tvivl om, overveje, etc.
• Use hvis for conditions (“if X happens, then Y”).

Why is there a comma before om? Is it always required?

The comma is there because om han kommer i aften is a subordinate clause (an indirect question) functioning as the object of spørger.

• Traditional comma system: you must put a comma before most subordinate clauses:
  Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.
• Newer comma system: you may leave it out in many cases:
  Jeg spørger om han kommer i aften.

Both versions are seen in real Danish. As a learner, it’s usually safest to use the comma before om in this kind of sentence, because it’s always accepted.

Why is the word order han kommer and not kommer han after om?

After om you have a subordinate clause, and in Danish subordinate clauses use normal statement word order:

• Subject before the verb: [han] [kommer]

So:

• Direct yes/no question (main clause):
  Kommer han i aften?
  (verb–subject order)

• Indirect question (subordinate clause):
  Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.
  (subject–verb order)

Using kommer han after om would sound wrong:

• ✗ Jeg spørger, om kommer han i aften. (incorrect)

What tense is spørger, and does it mean “ask” or “am asking”?

spørger is the present tense of the verb at spørge (to ask).

Danish doesn’t have a special “-ing” tense like English. The same form covers both:

• Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.
  Can mean:
  • I ask if he is coming tonight. (habitual or general)
  • I am asking if he is coming tonight. (right now)

Context decides which English translation fits, but in Danish you just use spørger.

How do you pronounce spørger?

Rough guide to pronunciation:

• sp-: pronounced together, a bit like sp- in spin
• ø: a rounded vowel, a bit like the vowel in British “bird”, but with rounded lips
• rg: in this combination, the g is not clearly pronounced; the r affects the vowel
• -er: a weak, unstressed ending, often sounding like a very short “uh”

In IPA it’s often written roughly as: [ˈsbœɐ̯ɐ]

So to an English ear, spørger might sound something like “spø-uh”, with the stress on the first part.

Could I say Jeg spørger, om han vil komme i aften or om han skal komme i aften instead, and what’s the difference?

Yes, you can say those, but the meaning changes slightly:

• om han kommer i aften
  Neutral: if / whether he is coming tonight (simple fact)

• om han vil komme i aften
  Often about willingness / intention:
  whether he will come / wants to come tonight

• om han skal komme i aften
  Often about obligation / plan:
  whether he is supposed to come tonight or whether he is to come tonight

In everyday speech, kommer is the default for future events, just like in the original sentence.

Can i aften be placed somewhere else in the sentence?

The most natural place is at the end of the clause, as in the example:

• om han kommer i aften

Other positions are possible but sound either marked or a bit unnatural in this sentence:

• ? om han i aften kommer – grammatically possible but sounds stiff/poetic.
• ? om han i aften vil komme – also possible but marked.

For normal, neutral Danish, put i aften at the end of the subordinate clause here:

• Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.

Exactly what time does i aften refer to, and how is it different from i nat or i morgen aften?

• i aften = this evening / tonight
  Typically the evening of today, from early evening until you go to bed.

• i nat = tonight / last night depending on context, but always the nighttime hours (late night).

• i morgen aften = tomorrow evening / tomorrow night
  The evening of the following day.

So in the sentence:

• Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.
  you are asking whether he will come this evening (later today).

Does spørger need a direct object here, like Jeg spørger ham?

It can have an object, but it doesn’t have to.

In this sentence, the “thing you ask” is the clause itself:

• om han kommer i aften is the object of spørger.

So:

• Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.
  = I ask whether he is coming tonight. (no mention of whom you ask)

You can add a person as an indirect object:

• Jeg spørger ham, om han kommer i aften.
  I ask him whether he is coming tonight.

Both sentences are correct; they just emphasize slightly different things.

Is om han kommer i aften a separate clause, and what kind of clause is it?

Yes, om han kommer i aften is a subordinate clause (also called a dependent clause).

More specifically, it is:

• an indirect question (introduced by om),
• functioning as the object of the verb spørger.

You can see the relationship clearly if you compare with the direct question:

• Direct: Kommer han i aften?
• Indirect: Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften.

Can om be left out, like English sometimes leaves out that (e.g. I think (that) he is coming)?

No, you cannot leave out om in this type of sentence.

With at (that) you often have the choice:

• Jeg tror, at han kommer i aften.
• Jeg tror han kommer i aften. (both are okay)

But with om introducing an indirect yes/no question, you must keep it:

• Jeg spørger, om han kommer i aften. (correct)
• ✗ Jeg spørger, han kommer i aften. (incorrect)

So, unlike English that, Danish om in this use is not optional.