Danish Present Tense
Good news: Danish present tense is the same for all subjects. There's no difference between "I eat" and "she eats" — it's always spiser.
The rule
Most Danish verbs form the present tense by adding -r or -er to the infinitive stem. Irregular verbs like være (to be) and have (to have) have their own forms.
Common verbs
Infinitive
Present
English
spise
spiser
eat / eats
drikke
drikker
drink / drinks
læse
læser
read / reads
gå
går
go / goes
have
har
have / has
være
er
am / is / are
No person conjugation
Unlike English, the verb stays the same regardless of subject: jeg spiser, du spiser, hun spiser, vi spiser. One form fits all.
Common mistakes
✘Jeg spise morgenmad.
✓Jeg spiser morgenmad.
The present tense adds -r or -er to the verb.
✘Han værer træt.
✓Han er træt.
Være is irregular: the present tense is er.
✘Vi haver en hund.
✓Vi har en hund.
Have is irregular: the present tense is har.
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