var/havde

Past of Være and Have

Level 2

Var (was/were) and havde (had) are the past tense forms of the two most common Danish verbs. Unlike English, they do not change based on the person (I, you, we, etc.).

How It Works

The verbs var and havde are essential for describing past states and possessions.

1. Basic Usage
Var is the past tense of være (to be). It acts as a link between a subject and a state or identity (e.g., 'I was happy').
Havde is the past tense of have (to have). It indicates past possession (e.g., 'I had a dog').

2. Auxiliary Function (Pluperfect)
These verbs are also used to form the pluperfect tense (had done something).

  • Havde is the default auxiliary for most verbs, including være itself: Jeg havde været der (I had been there).
  • Havde is always used if the verb has a direct object: Han havde kørt bilen (He had driven the car).
  • Var is used for verbs of motion or change of state, like blive (become/stay): Han var blevet glad (He had become happy) or Hun var gået (She had left).

3. Activity vs. Result
Danish distinguishes between the activity of moving and the result of moving. Use havde for the activity (Jeg havde løbet i en time - I had run for an hour) and var for the change of location (Jeg var løbet væk - I had run away).

4. Pronunciation Note
The 'd' in havde is silent. It is pronounced roughly like 'ha-eh' (/hæːə/). Because of this, learners often accidentally write the infinitive 'have' when they mean the past tense 'havde'.

Examples (5)

  1. Jeg var meget træt i går.

    I was very tired yesterday.

    Word by Word: I was very tired in yesterday.

    Here 'var' describes a past state of the subject 'jeg'.

  2. Vi havde en gammel bil.

    We had an old car.

    Word by Word: We had an old car.

    Here 'havde' indicates past possession.

  3. Da jeg kom, var de allerede gået.

    When I arrived, they had already left.

    Word by Word: When I came, were they already gone.

    In this pluperfect construction, 'var' is used because 'gå' (to go/leave) is a verb of motion.

  4. Hun havde læst bogen før filmen.

    She had read the book before the movie.

    Word by Word: She had read book-the before movie-the.

    Here 'havde' is the auxiliary verb for the pluperfect of 'læse' (to read).

  5. Var du i København i sidste uge?

    Were you in Copenhagen last week?

    Word by Word: Were you in Copenhagen in last week?

    A question using 'var'. Notice the verb-subject inversion.

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'havde' for all past perfect (pluperfect) sentences.

    Jeg havde gået hjem.
    Jeg var gået hjem.

    Danish uses 'var' (not 'havde') as a helping verb for verbs of motion like 'gå' (go) or 'komme' (come) when they describe a change of location.

  • Using 'var' for motion verbs that have a direct object.

    Han var kørt bilen.
    Han havde kørt bilen.

    Even if a verb usually takes 'var' (like 'køre'), it must use 'havde' if there is a direct object (like 'bilen').

  • Spelling 'havde' as 'have' due to the silent 'd'.

    Jeg have en hund.
    Jeg havde en hund.

    Because the 'd' is not pronounced, it is easy to forget to write it. 'Have' is the infinitive (to have), while 'havde' is the past tense (had).

How It Connects

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var/havdeLevel 2Past of Være and Have

Learn This First

To understand the past tense forms 'var' and 'havde', you first need to be familiar with the basic verbs 'være' (to be) and 'have' (to have) in their present forms, as well as the subject pronouns used to build sentences.

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værehave