være

To Be (Være)

Level 1

være (to be) is the most frequent verb in Danish. Its present tense form is er for all subjects.

How It Works

The verb være is a 'copula' verb, meaning it acts like an equals sign between the subject and a description.

1. Present Tense: er
The present tense is er. It is used for all subjects:

  • Jeg er (I am)
  • Du er (You are)
  • Vi er (We are)

2. Usage
It is used to describe:

  • Identity: Jeg er dansker (I am Danish).
  • State: Han er træt (He is tired).
  • Location: Vi er i København (We are in Copenhagen).

3. Past and Perfect Tense
The past tense is var (was/were). To say 'have been', use har været.

4. Existential 'There is'
Danish uses the phrase der er to mean 'there is' or 'there are'.

5. Auxiliary Function
In more advanced Danish, er is used instead of har to form the perfect tense for verbs of motion or change, such as er gået (has left/gone).

Examples (4)

  1. Jeg er sulten, men maden er ikke klar endnu.

    I am hungry, but the food is not ready yet.

    Word by Word: I am hungry, but food-the is not ready yet.

    Shows 'er' used for both a person's state and an object's state.

  2. Hvor har du været? Vi var meget bekymrede.

    Where have you been? We were very worried.

    Word by Word: Where have you been? We were very worried.

    Demonstrates the perfect tense 'har været' and the past tense 'var'.

  3. Der er mange mennesker på gaden i dag.

    There are many people on the street today.

    Word by Word: There are many people on street-the in day.

    Shows the existential use of 'være' with 'der'.

  4. Han er lærer og hun er læge.

    He is a teacher and she is a doctor.

    Word by Word: He is teacher and she is doctor.

    Shows 'er' used for identity/profession. Note that Danish often omits the article for professions.

Common Mistakes

  • Trying to conjugate the verb for different persons (like English am/is/are).

    Jeg er, men de ere.
    Jeg er, og de er.

    Danish verbs never change based on the subject. It is always 'er' in the present tense.

  • Confusing 'være' (state) with 'blive' (becoming).

    Jeg bliver træt nu.
    Jeg er træt nu.

    Use 'er' if you are already in that state. Use 'bliver' only if you are transitioning into that state (getting tired).

How It Connects

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

væreLevel 1To Be (Være)

Learn This First

To understand the verb 'være' (to be), you first need to know the subject pronouns (I, you, he, she, etc.) that the verb will describe. Since 'være' is used to link a subject to a state or identity, knowing who the subject is is the first step in building a sentence.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 4 more in the full list.

Words in This Pattern

være