Contrastive Stress And Pronoun Forms

Level 5

In Danish, the position of an object pronoun depends on its stress. Unstressed pronouns (given information) shift before adverbs like ikke. Stressed pronouns (new/contrastive information) stay after the adverb.

How It Works

In a standard Danish sentence with V2 word order, the placement of an object pronoun is determined by its prosodic weight (stress). Shifting unstressed pronouns is obligatory in Danish; failing to do so is a grammatical error.

  • Unstressed Pronouns: When a pronoun refers to something already mentioned, it is 'light.' It moves to the left of sentence adverbs like ikke, aldrig, or ofte. Example: Jeg så ham ikke. If there are two unstressed pronouns, both shift: Jeg gav ham det ikke.
  • Stressed Pronouns: When you want to contrast one person/thing with another, the pronoun receives heavy stress and stays in the original object position after the adverb. Example: Jeg så ikke HAM (men hende).

The 'Roadblock' Rule (Holmberg’s Generalization):
Object shift only happens if the finite verb has moved to the second position. If there is an auxiliary verb (like har, kan, or skal), the main verb stays in place and acts as a 'roadblock,' preventing the pronoun from shifting: Jeg har ikke set ham.

Subordinate Clauses:
Object shift never occurs in subordinate clauses. Because the verb does not move to the V2 position in these clauses, the 'roadblock' is always present. Example: ...fordi jeg ikke kender ham.

Indefinite Pronouns:
Note that indefinite pronouns like nogen or noget do not undergo object shift, even when unstressed. They always remain after the adverb: Jeg så ikke nogen.

Particle Verbs:
When using particle verbs, the unstressed pronoun shifts before the adverb but must remain before the particle. Example: Jeg smed det ikke ud.

Examples (6)

  1. Jeg kender ham ikke.

    I don't know him.

    Word by Word: I know him not.

    The pronoun 'ham' is unstressed, so it must shift before 'ikke' in this main clause.

  2. Jeg kender ikke HAM, men jeg kender hans bror.

    I don't know HIM, but I know his brother.

    Word by Word: I know not HIM, but I know his brother.

    The pronoun 'HAM' is stressed for contrast, so it stays after 'ikke'.

  3. Han sagde, at han ikke kendte ham.

    He said that he didn't know him.

    Word by Word: He said, that he not knew him.

    In a subordinate clause, the verb does not move to the second position, so object shift is prohibited; 'ham' stays after 'ikke'.

  4. Jeg gav ham det ikke.

    I didn't give it to him.

    Word by Word: I gave him it not.

    When two unstressed pronouns are present, both must shift to the left of the adverb.

  5. Jeg så ikke nogen.

    I didn't see anyone.

    Word by Word: I saw not anyone.

    Indefinite pronouns like 'nogen' do not undergo object shift and must stay after the adverb.

  6. Jeg ringede ham ikke op.

    I didn't call him up.

    Word by Word: I called him not up.

    With particle verbs, the unstressed pronoun shifts before the adverb but stays before the particle 'op'.

Common Mistakes

  • Placing an unstressed pronoun after 'ikke' like in English.

    Jeg kender ikke dig.
    Jeg kender dig ikke.

    In Danish, if 'dig' is not stressed, it must shift before 'ikke'. Placing it after 'ikke' without stress sounds ungrammatical.

  • Shifting the pronoun when a 'roadblock' verb is present.

    Jeg vil den ikke have.
    Jeg vil ikke have den.

    The infinitive 'have' prevents the pronoun 'den' from shifting. The pronoun must stay at the end.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Contrastive Stress And Pronoun FormsLevel 5

Learn This First

To understand contrastive stress, you first need to know the standard object pronouns and how they usually behave in a sentence. Specifically, you must understand 'light pronoun shift,' where unstressed pronouns move to a position before the negation 'ikke.' Contrastive stress is the exception to this rule: when a pronoun is emphasized to show contrast, it stays in its full form and remains in the standard object position after the negation.