Danish Imperative (Commands)

The imperative is the form you use to tell someone to do something: Kom ind! (Come in!), Ring til mig! (Call me!). In Danish it's one of the easiest verb forms, because it's just the verb's stem (usually the infinitive without its final -e), the same for one person or many.

The rule

Take the infinitive and drop the unstressed final -e. Short verbs that end in a stressed vowel, like gå, se and stå, don't change at all.

Infinitive	Imperative	English
spise	spis!	eat!
læse	læs!	read!
ringe	ring!	call!
vente	vent!	wait!
gå	gå!	go!
se	se!	look!
stå	stå!	stand!

Irregular verbs and unusual stems

The same rule works for every verb, including irregular ones like give and drikke. Some stems look unusual in writing, like åbn (from åbne) and cykl (from cykle), but they follow the rule too.

Infinitive	In a sentence	English
huske	Husk at vaske hænderne.	Remember to wash your hands.
hjælpe	Hjælp mig!	Help me!
give	Giv mig din hånd.	Give me your hand.
drikke	Drik en kop varm te.	Drink a cup of hot tea.
lægge	Læg det i fryseren.	Put it in the freezer.
åbne	Åbn vinduet.	Open the window.

Saying “don’t”

Put ikke after the verb, or use lad være med at + infinitive, the most common way in everyday speech.

Danish	English
Glem det ikke!	Don't forget it!
Rør ikke ved den!	Don't touch it!
Lad være med at råbe.	Don't shout. / Stop shouting.
Spis ikke for meget fedt.	Don't eat too much fat.
Lad være!	Stop it! / Don't!

With a pronoun object, the pronoun comes before ikke: Sig det ikke til nogen! (Don’t tell anyone!)

Sounding polite

A bare imperative can sound abrupt, but Danes soften it with small words rather than with a word for “please” (venligst exists, but it's formal and mostly seen on signs):

bare — Kom bare ind. (Just come in.) Gives permission.
lige — Vent lige lidt. (Just wait a moment.) Makes a request small.
gerne — Luk gerne døren. (Please close the door.) A friendly request, common in instructions and on signs. It can also mean “feel free to”: Ring gerne, hvis du har spørgsmål.

To ask rather than tell, use a question with a modal verb: Kan du lukke døren? (Can you close the door?) or Vil du ikke lukke døren? (Would you close the door?).

Kunne du ...? (Could you ...?) is softer still. Modal verbs

Sæt dig, sæt jer: verbs with a pronoun

Some verbs need a reflexive pronoun, like sætte sig (sit down) and skynde sig (hurry). The verb stays the same, but the pronoun shows who you are talking to: dig for one person, jer for several.

Danish	English	To
Sæt dig ved bordet.	Sit down at the table.	one person
Sæt jer ned.	Sit down, everyone.	several people
Læg dig ned!	Lie down!	one person
Skynd dig!	Hurry up!	one person
Skynd jer!	Hurry up, all of you!	several people

Pronouns

Lad os: let’s

To suggest doing something together, use lad os + infinitive. Lad is the imperative of lade (let).

Danish	English
Lad os gå.	Let's go.
Lad os lege en leg.	Let's play a game.
Lad os fortsætte mødet i morgen.	Let's continue the meeting tomorrow.

Where you’ll see it

Recipes, directions, notes and signs all use the imperative. Even undskyld (sorry, excuse me) is the imperative of undskylde.

Danish	English	Where
Træk	Pull	on doors
Skub	Push	on doors
Sæt kagen i ovnen.	Put the cake in the oven.	recipes
Drej til højre ved lyskrydset.	Turn right at the traffic lights.	directions
Husk at lukke døren.	Remember to close the door.	notes and signs
Hav en god dag!	Have a nice day!	set phrases
Sov godt!	Sleep well!	set phrases

Imperative, infinitive or present?

The imperative is the shortest form of the verb. Use it only when you tell someone to do something. After a modal verb or at, use the infinitive; to say what someone does, use the present tense with -r.

Danish	English	Form
Spis nu!	Eat now!	imperative: telling someone
Du skal spise nu.	You have to eat now.	infinitive after a modal verb
Husk at spise.	Remember to eat.	infinitive after at
Hun spiser nu.	She is eating now.	present tense: saying what happens

Present tense

Common mistakes

Wrong:~~Spise!~~
Right:Spis!
The imperative drops the final -e of the infinitive.
Wrong:~~Lad os at spise.~~
Right:Lad os spise.
Lad os is followed by the bare infinitive, with no at.
Wrong:~~Ikke glem det!~~
Right:Glem det ikke!
Ikke comes after the verb, not before it.
Wrong:~~Venter!~~
Right:Vent!
The imperative is the stem, not the present tense.

Check yourself

6 questions

1. “Read the text!”

2. “Come in!”

3. “Don't buy it!”

4. “Sit down.” (to a group)

5. “Let's play a game.”

6. “Open the window.”

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