Basic place and time questions | Learn Danish in English

Danish lesson set in a contemporary Copenhagen everyday setting: A beginner practices six useful English phrases about basic place and time questions..

EN → DA / Level: A1

About This Lesson

Use Basic place and time questions to practice Danish conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.

Dialogue

A

Hvor er det?

vohr AIR deh Where is it?
B

Hvor er du?

vohr AIR doo Where are you?
A

Hvad skete der her?

veh SKAY-duh DAIR HAIR What happened here?
B

Hvad er klokken?

veh AIR KLOH-guhn What time is it?
A

Hvornår kommer du?

vohr-NAWR KOH-muh doo When will you come?
B

Hvorfor er du forsinket?

VOHR-foh AIR doo for-SENG-uhth Why are you late?

Word by Word

Hvor "Hvor" means "where" and asks about a location in this dialogue. It comes first in the questions "Hvor er det?" and "Hvor er du?". Use it when asking where a person or thing is.
er "er" means "is" or "are" here and links a person or thing with a location or with the time. In "Hvor er det?", "Hvor er du?", and "Hvad er klokken?", it comes before the subject after the question word. "er" is the form of the verb være used in these questions.
det "det" means "it" in "Hvor er det?" and refers to the thing whose location is being asked about. It follows "er" in this place question. Use it when the thing being discussed is already understood.
du "du" means "you" and refers to the person being addressed. In "Hvor er du?" it follows "er" because the question asks about that person's location. Use it when speaking directly to one person.
Hvad "Hvad" means "what" and asks for information about a thing, event, or subject. It begins both "Hvad skete der her?" and "Hvad er klokken?" in this dialogue. Use it at the start of a question when you want to find out what something is or what happened.
skete "skete" means "happened" in "Hvad skete der her?". It is the past form of ske, referring to an event that has already taken place. Use it when asking about an event, especially with the question word "Hvad".
der "der" is part of the question about an event in "Hvad skete der her?". Here it helps form the expression asking what happened, while "her" identifies the place. Keep it in this question pattern when asking what happened.
her "her" means "here" and points to the place where the event occurred. In "Hvad skete der her?" it comes at the end and specifies the location being discussed. Use it when referring to the place where the speaker and listener are.
klokken "klokken" means "the time" in "Hvad er klokken?" and identifies what the question asks about. The word is related to klokke, "clock", and this exact form is used in the question about the current time. Use it with "Hvad er" when asking what time it is.
Hvornår "Hvornår" means "when" and asks about the time of an event. In "Hvornår kommer du?" it comes first and asks when the person will come. Use it when asking when someone will arrive or when something will happen.
kommer "kommer" means "come" or "will come" in "Hvornår kommer du?", referring to an expected arrival. It is the present form of komme, used here with a future meaning because the question asks about a coming event. Use it with a person as the subject when asking about their arrival.
Hvorfor "Hvorfor" means "why" and asks for a reason. In "Hvorfor er du forsinket?" it comes first and asks for the reason that the person is late. Use it at the beginning of a question when you want an explanation.
forsinket "forsinket" means "late" or "delayed" in "Hvorfor er du forsinket?". It describes the addressed person as not arriving on time and follows "er" in this sentence. Use it when explaining that a person or thing is delayed.

Grammar Points

Hvor + verb + subject?

Hvor er det?

vohr AIR deh

Where is it?

In Danish questions with hvor, the verb comes before the subject: hvor er det, not hvor det er.

Hvad skete der?

Hvad skete der?

veh SKAY-duh DAIR

What happened?

Skete is the past form of ske. In this question, der follows the verb.

Danish Vocabulary

der adv
dair there

Hvad skete der her?

det pron
deh it; that
Gender
neuter

Hvor er det?

du pron
doo you

Hvor er du?

er verb
air is; are

Hvor er du?

her adv
hair here

Hvad skete der her?

hvad pron
veh what

Hvad skete der her?

hvor adv
vohr where

Hvor er det?

hvorfor adv
VOHR-foh why

Hvorfor er du forsinket?

hvornår adv
vohr-NAWR when

Hvornår kommer du?

klokke noun
KLOH-kuh clock klokken
Gender
common

Hvad er klokken?

komme verb
KOH-muh to come kommer

Hvornår kommer du?

ske verb
skay to happen skete

Hvad skete der her?

Quiz

Word Order

Arrange the words in the correct order.

Where is it?

Show AnswerHvor er det?

Where are you?

Show AnswerHvor er du?

What happened here?

Show AnswerHvad skete der her?

Spelling

Tap the letters to spell the word.

clock

Show Answerklokken

what

Show Answerhvad

where

Show Answerhvor

to happen

Show Answerskete