# A Danish and Dano-Norwegian Grammar/Verbs

THE VERBS.
206. The verbs in the Danish and Dano-Norwegian language have separate forms for voices, tenses and to a certain extent modes and numbers.
The forms of the verbs are either simple or compound (formed by means of an auxiliary verb).
​The verbs are divided into two classes–the weak (also called regular) and the strong (or irregular) according to the formation of the imperfect and past participle.
207. The present tense of all verbs is formed alike, namely by adding -er (in a few cases -r) to the theme of the verb (or -r to the infinitive form); Ex.: jeg elsk–er love; han bring–er he brings; du Iæs–er you read; han tru–er he threatens. Present plural is in written language, when used, formed by dropping the final -r of the singular.
The infinitive is formed by adding -e to the theme of the verb: elsk–e, bring–e, tru–e.
Some verbs the root of which ends in a stressed vowel form their present by adding only -r and use their root unchanged as infinitive; Ex.: staa stand, pres. staar; gaa go, pres. gaar; at bo to reside; at dö to die; at sy to sew; at se to see.
Some verbs have double forms in infinitive, with or without -e: du or due to be fit; di or die to suck; fri or frie, befri or befrie to liberate; vi or vie to wed, to consecrate; forny or fornye to renew; all these verbs in Danish form their present in -er: duer, dier etc.
Note: In Norwegian the infinitive of these verbs is with the exception of fri and befri formed in -e.
-e is written and pronounced in the following verbs: bie to wait; tie to be silent; grue to dread; kue to cow; true to threaten; skrue to screw; lue to blaze; bejae to answer in the affirmative.
The present participle of all verbs is formed by adding -ende to the theme of the verb: löb–ende running, gaaende walking.
The passive or medial voice is formed in -esand in a few cases in -s.
A. WEAK VERBS
208. The weak verbs are divided into three classes; those belonging to the first class form their imperfect in -ede, their past participle in -et.
I. PARADIGM OF VERBS OF THE 1ST CLASS.
elske to love.
A. Active.
1) Simple forms.
| | | Ind. | Subj. | Imp. | Inf. | Partcpl. |
| Pres.: | Sing. | elsk-er, | elsk-e | elsk, | at elsk-e | elsk-ende |
| | Plur. | elsk-e | | elsk-er | | |
| Imperf. | | (jeg etc., vi etc.) | | | | |
| | | elske-de | | | | |
2) Forms compound with past participle:
| Perfect.: | Sing. har elsket | | at have elsket |
| | Plur. have elsket | | |
| Pluperf.: | (sing. and plur.) | havde elsket | |
3) Forms compound with pres. infinitive:
| Future: | Sing. skal or vil elske | | at skulle or ville elske |
| | Plur. skulle or ville elske | | |
| Conditional | (sing. and plur.) | skulde or vilde elske | |
4. Doubly compound forms: Compound future:
| Sing. | skal or vil have elsket | at skulle or ville have elsket |
| Plur. | skulle or ville have elsket | |
B. Passive.
1) Simple forms:
| | Ind. | Infinitive. | |
| Present: | elskes | at elskes | |
| Imperf.: | elskedes | | Past Partcpl.: elsket |
| | | Ind. | Inf. |
| Pres.: | Sing. | bliver elsket | at blive elsket |
| | Plur. | blive elskede | |
3) Doubly compound forms:
| Perfect: | Sing. | er bleven elsket | at være bleven elsket |
| | or | har været elsket | or at have været elsket |
| | Plur. | ere blevne elskede or have været elskede | ere blevne elskede or have været elskede |
| Pluperf.: | Sing. | var bleven elsket or havde været elsket | var bleven elsket or havde været elsket |
| | Plur. | vare blevne elskede or havde været elsket | vare blevne elskede or havde været elsket |
| Fut.: | Sing. | skal or vil blive elsket | at skulle or ville blive |
| | | or skal elskes | elsket or at skulle elskes |
| | Plur. | skulle or ville blive elskede or skulle elskes | skulle or ville blive elskede or skulle elskes |
| Conditional: | Conditional: | skulde or vilde blive elsket or skulle elskes | skulde or vilde blive elsket or skulle elskes |
209. In this manner are inflected almost all derivative verbs ending in a vowel or in a combination of consonants with which the ending -te does not readily agree.
In poetry verbs ending in a vowel often drop -e before the ending -de, and an apostrophe is written in its place, befri’de. In Norway verbs ending in a vowel colloquially form their imperf. in -dde and this form is now often used also in literature. naadde reached; trodde believed; etc. instead of naaede, troede.
In forms such as elskede the final -e is often dropped colloquially and in poetry: elsked’ for elskede. In Norway it takes the form elsket, a form that also is commencing to appear in the literature.
Verbs ending in -le and -re with a preceding consonant have their imperative of the same form as their infinitive: handle! act; logre, wag your tail! But imperative of such ​words is in writing as much as possible avoided and colloquially handl! logr! are the common forms. Verbs in -ne with preceding consonant form their imperative regularly: vaagn op, wake up; sygn lien! languish.
210. Verbs belonging to the second class form their imperfect by adding -te, past participle by adding -t without change of the radical vowel.
Inf. at rose to praise, pres. roser, impf. roste, past partc. rost.
(The other forms can easily be formed by comparison with the paradigm given of the first class).
In this manner are conjugated a great number of verbs ending in a single consonant (-b, -d, -g, -l, -r, -n, -s) with a preceding long vowel, or in the double consonant -mm or the combinations -ld and -ng; Ex.: raabe to cry, raabte (but haabe to hope, haabede); koge to cook, kogte (but toge to march in procession, togede); tömme to empty, tömte (but svömme swim, svömmede coll. svömte.
Obs. have to have, pres. har, pl. have, impf. havde; dö to die, impf. döde, ptcp. död; ske happen, imp. skete or skede, ptcp. skeet.
211. Verbs of the third class add in impf. -te (-de), partcp. -t and at the same time change the radical vowel from -æ or -ø in infinitive to resp. -a and -u (-o) in impf.
Note: This change of vowel is explained by the fact that the infinitive of these verbs which in the old language ended in -ja, has the form with mutation, while in imperf. there was no reason for mutation, so the original radical vowel again appeared there (retro-mutation, G. Rückumlaut, D. Gjenomlyd).
To this class belong:
| kvæle to stifle, | kvalte | kvalt. |
| lægge to lay, | lagde | lagt. |
| sætte to set, | satte | sat, |
| tælle to count, | talte | talt. |
| række to stretch, | rakte | rakt. |
| strække to stretch, | strakte | strakt. |
| tække to roof, | takte | takt. |
| vække to arouse, | vakte | vakt. |
| vænne to accustom, | vante | vant. |
| træde to tread, to step | traadte | traadt. |
| dölge conceal | dulgte | dulgt. |
| fölge follow | fulgte | fulgt. |
| spörge ask | spurgte | spurgt. |
| smöre smear | smurte | smurt. |
Irregular:
| sœlge sell | solgte | solgt. |
| sige say | sagde | sagt. |
| bringe bring | bragte | bragt. |
Note 1: vænne, tække, strække, vække as a rule follow the first class: vænnede, vænnet etc.; this is in N. always the case with tække.
Note 2: bringe is an originally German word and has retained its German inflexion. The Old Norse form of sige was segja which explains the modern imperf. sagde. Of eie to own sometimes in poetry occurs the antiqu. imperf. aatte.
Note 3: Present of gjöre is gjör and of spörge colloquially and in antiquated style spör, a form that is commencing to be introduced again into Norw. literature.
B. STRONG VERBS.
212. The strong verbs form their imperfect by changing the vowel (gradation, ablaut, Aflyd) without any ​terminal addition. Past. ptcp. in these verbs regularly has the ending -en for common gender and -et for neuter, but of many verbs only the latter form can be used, and others while forming a strong imperf. form their prtcp. according to the weak conjugation. The vowel of the participle is sometimes that of the present, sometimes that of the imperf.
The strong verbs are divided into 6 classes depending upon the vowels occurring in the different forms (gradation series):
| 1. | i (æ, e) | a | u |
| 2. | i (e) | a | i (e) or aa |
| 3. | i | e | e (i) |
| 4. | y | ö | u (ö, y,) |
| 5. | a | o | a |
| 6. | No apparent gradation, in historical grammars called the reduplicating class. | No apparent gradation, in historical grammars called the reduplicating class. | No apparent gradation, in historical grammars called the reduplicating class. |
213. Class I.
i (æ, e)–a–u. Ex.: binde to bind, bandt, bunden; sprække to crack, sprak, sprukken; finde to find; rinde to run (of running water); spinde to spin; stinke to stink (ptcp. stinket); svinde to vanish; tvinde to twist; vinde to win; klinge to sound (ptcp. klinget); springe to spring; svinge to swing; tvinge to force; synge to sing (sang, sungen, poet. and ant. sjunge), synke to sink (sank, sunket); slippe to let go; briste to burst (inf.); drikke to drink (drak, drukket; drukken adj. drunk); stikke to stab (poet. and ant. stinge, stak, stungen); brække to break; N. række to reach; N. strække til to suffice; trække to draw; fornemme to perceive (ptcpl. fornemmet or fornummet); hjælpe to help; N. brænde to burn, (intr. brandt, ptcp. brændt; D. impf. brændte); hænge to hang, hang or hængte, hængt; N. slænge to loiter (slang, slængt; but ​D. N. slænge to fling, slængte); gjælde to be worth, to refer to (gjaldt, gjældt); N. smælde to make a noise (smaldt or smældede, smældte, ptc. smældt); skjælve to shiver, (skjalv or skjælvede, N. skalv, skjælvet); knække to crack, knækkede or knak, knækket; sprætte to sprawl, imperf. N. sprat, D. sprættede, sprættet; skvætte to get a start, N. skvat, skvættede, skvættet.
Note 1. When there is a double set of forms in imperf., a strong one and a weak one, the strong form has originally represented the intransitive meaning, the weak form the transitive; Ex.: han strakte sin Haand ud he stretched his hand forth; Pengene strak ikke til the money was not sufficient; Huset brandt op the house burned down; jeg brændte mine Skibe I burned my ships; jeg skvat tilside I jumped aside; Pigen skvættede Vand paa mig the girl splashed water on me; jeg hængte min Hat paa Knagen I hung my hat on the rack; Manden hang i Galgen the man was hanging in the gallows.
Note 2. Antiquated and poet. Danish are the imperf. plurals: funde, runde, svunde, sprunge, stunge, sunge, drukke, hjulpe.
214. Class II.
i (e)–a–i (e) or aa. Ex.: give to give, gav, givet; bede to pray, bad, bedt (bedet). To this class belong: give to give; gide to prevail upon one’s self to, gad, gidet; sidde to sit, sad, siddet; kvæde to sing, kvad, kvædet; være to be, var, været; bære to wear, bar, baaren; skjære to cut, skar, skaaren; stjæle to steal, stjal, stjaalen; se to se, saa, seet; ligge to lie, laa, ligget; æde to eat, aad, ædt.
Note 1. dræbe to kill, although regularly following the weak conjugation (dræbte, dræbt) occurs in N. poetry in the strang impf. drap: han drap far he killed my father (Björnson).
Note 2. To the infinitive være, to be, corresponds the pres. (jeg) er I am (pl. ere), but overvære, to be present at, has pres. overværer, imp. overvar, and undvære to be without, undværer, undværede.
​Note 3. Some of these verbs may in Danish form their impf . plural in -e: bare, aade etc.
215. Class III.
i–e–e (i). Ex.: gribe to catch, greb, greben; bide to bite, bed, bidt; hvine to shriek, hven or hvinede, hvinte, hvinet); grine to grin (N. gren, D. grinede or grinte, grinet); trine to step (tren, trinet); gribe to catch; knibe to pinch; pibe to pipe (peb, pebet); slibe to grind (sleb, slebet, N. pron. slipt; sleben adj. polished); blive to become (blev, bleven); drive to drive; hive to heave (impf. D. hivede, N. hev, hevet); rive to tear; skrive to write (all these as blive); bide; glide to slide (gled, gleden, N. pron. glidd); lide to wear on (led, leden); lide to suffer (led, lidt); ride to ride (red, redet, N. pron. ridd); skride to proceed (skred, skredet); slide to wear (sled, slidt); smide to fling (smed, smidt); stride to fight (stred, stridt); svide to singe (sved, sveden, N. pron. svidd); vride to wringe (vred, vreden, N. pron. vridd); kige (pron. Nor. kjikke) to peep (keg or kigede, keget or kiget); snige to sneak (sneg, sneget); svige to deceive (sveg, svegen); vige to yield (veg, veget).
Note. These verbs may in Danish form their ipf. pi. in -e: bleve, vege etc. (but not bede, because that would be liable to be confounded with bede plur. pres. of at bede to pray).
216. Class IV.
y–ö–u (ö, y). Ex.: krybe to crawl, kröb, kröben; bryde to break, bröd, brudt; fyge to drift (prtc. föget); ryge to smoke (de ryger it smokes), rög, röget; stryge to stroke (ptcp. strögen); klyve to climb (N. imperf. klöv, D. klyvede, ptc. N. klövet, D. klyvet); N. skyve to push (skjöv, skjövet); flyve to fly (flöi, flöiet), lyve to lie (löi, löiet); byde to bid ​(ptc. buden, budt); bryde to break; flyde to flow (ptc. flydt); gyde to pour (gjöd or D. god, gydt); lyde to obey (ptc. lydt); nyde to enjoy (nydt); skryde to boast (skrydt); snyde to cheat)–ptc. snydt; skyde to shoot (skjöd, ptc. skudt); fortryde to regret (ptc. fortrudt); betyde to signify (D. betöd or betydede, N. betydde) or betöd, ptc. betydet); syde to boil (generally sydede, prt. sydet); fnyse to fret (fnös or fnyste, ptc. fnyset, fnyst); fryse to be cold (frös–frosset); gyse to shudder (gjös, gös, gyste–gyst); nyse to sneeze (ptc. nyst).
Note. The imperfect frös, fnös, nös, gjös do not regularly form any plural in -e in Danish. töd is in Danish an antiquated imperf. of tude to howl, while in Norway töt is impf. of tyte to ooze out.
217. Class V.
a– o– a.
befale to command (befalede or ant. befol, befalet); gale to crow (galede or gol, galet); fare to travel (for, faret); lade to let (lod, ladet); grave to dig (gravede or grov, gravet); drage to draw (drog, dragen); jage to hunt (jagede or jog, jaqen); tage to take (tog, tagen).
Irregular are:
slaa to strike (slog, slaaet or slagen); staa to stand staaet); sværge to swear (svor, svoren); le to laugh (lo, leet);
Note: befalede is now exclusively used in common speech; so is galede; jagede is more common than its corresponding strong form, jage is always weak when it indicates to go hunting. Han blev slagen he was conquered: han blev slaaet he was struck.
​An antiquated inf. and present for staa and staar is stande, stander; imperative stat, plur. stander, partc. standet.
Antiquated is vov for vævede of væve to weave ; also vog imfpf. of veie in the meaning : to kill; in the meaning : to weigh, in which it is now exclusively used in common speech veie has impf. veiede.
218. Class VI.
Apparently no gradation in the different tenses. The following verbs belong to this class:
| löbe to run, | löb | löbet. |
| sove to sleep, | sov | sovet. |
| græde to weep, | græd | grædt. |
D. hedde (N. hede) to be called, hed (D. also hedte), hedt. hugge to cut, N. hug (D. commonly huggede), hugget.
| komme to come, | kom | kommen. |
| falde to fall, | faldt | falden, faldt. |
| holde to hold, | holdt | holdt. |
To this class are also counted:
| faa to get, | fik | faaet (N. pron. fåt.) |
| gaa to go, | gik | gaet (N. pron. gåt.) |
Wholly irregular is: tie to be silent, taug (N. tiede, pron. tidde,) ptcp. tiet.
Note: None of these verbs form an impf. plural in -e.
219. When there are two sets of verbs, one strong and one weak, the former originally was intransitive, the latter transitive. But this difference, to a great extent, has been wiped out, both forms now being largely used promiscuously; ​see remarks to hængte and hang, brændte and brandt (213 Note 1). It is very common in Norway to say: jeq har lagt i min Seng I have laid in my bed, (ptcp. of lægge to lay) instead of: jeg har ligget i min Seng I have been lying in my bed, (ptcp. of ligge to lie); in the same manner: jeg har nu sat her en Time I have now set here an hour (ptc. of sætte to set) instead of: jeg har nu siddet her en Time I have now been sitting here for an hour. But in the following pairs of verbs the distinction is complete: springe–sprænge to spring and to burst, falde–fælde to fall and to fell; synke, sænke to sink (intr. and trans.)
IRREGULAR VERS.
220. The following verbs have an irregular inflection.
| Pres. | Pres. | Imperf. | Partcp. | Inf. |
| Sing. | Plur. | | | |
| kan can | kunne | kunde | kunnet | at kunne |
| skal shall | skulle | skulde | skullet | at skulle |
| bör ought to bör | bör ought to bör | burde | burdet | at burde |
| tör dare | tör | turde | turdet | at turde |
| maa must | maa | maatte | maattet | at maatte |
| (subj. maatte) | (subj. maatte) | | | |
| vil will | ville | vilde | villet | at ville |
| ved know | vide | vidste | vidst | at vide |
These verbs are in historical grammars generally called preteritopresents, because the forms now used as their present tenses are original imperfects. Hence the change of vowel between pres. sing, and plural (ved–vide, skal–skulle). ​To this class also belongs the antiquated imperf. aatte ptc. aatt owned corresponding to the present inf. eie, regular impf. and ptc. eiede, eiet; also mon and monne used in antiquated style promiscuously as pres. or imperf. periphrastically with infinitives like English doth and did.
THE USE OF THE NUMBERS.
221. In colloquial language there is no distinction between singular and plural, the singular form being used with plural as well as with singular subjects. In written language the plural, form in the present tense is still retained by most Danish authors and according to official Danish rules of spelling, while most Norwegian authors and the official Norwegian rules of spelling have dropped the distinction between singular and plural. In the imperf. of the weak verbs there can be no distinction. In the imperf. of the strong verbs the rule is about the same as in the present, although the plural form of some verbs is avoided even by Danish authors as stated in §§ 216 note, 218 note. As a general rule it can be said that the imperf. plural is not formed whenever it would have the same form as the present plural. In poetry plural or singular forms are used promiscuously with a subject in the plural according to the necessities of prosody. Ex.: Kvinder selv stod op og strede (Bjørnson) even women arose and fought (arose to fight).
THE USE OF THE TENSES.
222. The present tense is often employed with future meaning, Ex.: jeg reiser imorgen I shall depart to-morrow; ​naar jeg ser ham, skal jeg hilse ham fra dig when I see him I shall bring him your greeting.
The present tense may also be employed to signify the past. Igaar medens jeg gaar paa Gaden ser jeg pludselig en Mand komme löbende imod mig yesterday while walking in the street I suddenly see a man coming running towards me.
223. The imperfect is used in conditional sentences referring to the present as in English; Ex. hvis jeg vidste hans Navn, saa vilde jeg fortælle dig det if I knew his name I should tell it to you. In the same manner the pluperfect is used in conditional sentences referring to the past: om jeg havde set ham, skulde jeg nok ikke have ladet ham löbe if I had seen him I should certainly not have let him skip.
224. In the future tense skal and vil as a rule have retained some of their original signification of duty and necessity or will and desire and they are used accordingly. There is no distinction as to the use in the different persons as in English. Skal is used in promises: jeg skal sikkert have Klæderne færdig i rette Tid I shall surely have the suit ready in time. For the use of skal and vil in the passive voice see § 233.
The compound future more commonly takes the form of faar elsket (faar with past ptc.) instead of skal have elsket. Ex. naar jeg faar gjort del, skal jeg lade Dem det vide when I shall have done it (or when I get it done) I shall give you word.
In Norwegian faa with infinitive is used to express necessity: jeg faar nok gjöre det, enten jeg vil eller ikke I guess I shall have to do it whether I want to or not, (cfr. Engl. I’ve got to do it.)
225. Some intransitive verbs indicating a change form their perfect by means of være instead of have, when it is intended to express only that something has taken place ​without emphasizing the notion of action. Han er gaaet he is gone. Min Fader er reist for en Time siden my father left (has left) an hour ago; Blomsten var visnet, för jeg fik den the flower had faded before I got it. But: jeg har gaaet fem Mil idag I have walked five miles to-day. Min Ven har reist fem Gange over Atlanterhavet my friend has crossed the Atlantic five times.
THE USE OF THE MODES.
226. The subjunctive which only occurs in the present tense and has the same form as the infinitive is used in an optative or concessive meaning: Leve Fædrelandet! Long live our native land! det koste hvad det vil i. e. at all hazards.
227. The infinitive is as a rule used together with the particle at to. Jeg önsker at tale med Dem I wish to speak to you. The infinitive is used without at after the so called modal auxiliaries burde, gide, kunne, maatte, monne, skulle, turde, ville; Ex. jeg tör paastaa, at han er en stor Slyngel I dare assert that he is a great scoundrel. Du bör gjöre det you ought to do it. If bör (in antiquated style) is used impersonally in the meaning of “behoves to,” then the following infinitive takes at: eder bör at give efter it behoves you to yield. The infinitive is also after some verbs used without at when it is a predicate to the object of the sentence, the same as in English: jeg kan höre Hjertet banke I can hear the heart beat. Han lod de andre faa et langt Forspring (N. Forsprang) he allowed the others to get a good lead. After other verbs the infinitive with at is used: jeg fandt ham at være en brav Mand I found him to be an honest man (more common: ​jeg fandt, at han var etc.). Jeg bad ham komme, at komme or om at komme I asked him to come.
After lade to let, in the meaning of “to have” with a participle, “to cause to be done,” the Dano-Norwegian language uses infinitive with an object of its own, placed before the infinitive: jeg lod Huset bygge I had the house built; Generalen lod Forræderen skyde the general ordered the traitor to be shot.
228. The infinitive is used after prepositions, where in English the gerund is employed the Dano-Norwegian langauge having no gerund; any preposition may govern the infinitive; Ex. De gjorde ret i at sige det til ham you did right in telling it to him; jeg er kommen hid for at tale med Dem I came here to speak to you; jeg reiste til Markedet for at kjöbe en Hest I went to the fair to buy a horse; efter at have sagt Farvel gik han sin Vei (after) having bidden farewell he went away; det gaar langsomt med at faa samlet Pengene there is tardy progress in collecting the money; for at tjene Penge ofrede han sit gode Navn og Rygte in order to make money he sacrificed his good name and reputation.
229. The present participle cannot be used periphrastically with the verb at være, to be, as in English. I was just thinking about what to do must be rendered: jeg tænkte netop paa, hvad der var at gjöre. “The widow was mending the clothes of her youngest son,” must be rendered: Enken holdt paa at gjöre island sin yngste Söns Klæder. Note the use of the participle in the following sentences: han kom löbende he came running; han blev staaende he remained standing or: he came to a stand still. A second verb connected with such a participle by og, and, is not put in participial form but in the infinitive: han blev staaende ​midt paa Gulvet og glo he remained standing in the middle of the floor, staring.
Colloquially and vulgarly a present participle in -s is sometimes formed without any passive signification. Han kom gaaendes he came walking. Or with signification of what is to be done (cfr. lat. gerundive). Kongen er ventendes the king is to be expected. Sometimes, especially in advertisements, the active participle is used with signification of passive: mit iboende Hus the house I live in; et byggende Skib a ship that is being built (cfr. the Engl. expression: efforts are making.)
Note. Expressions like the following: “Having made the necessary preparations Mr. Jones at once started on his voyage” can not in Dano-Norwegian be rendered by means of a participle: efter at have fuldendt sine Forberedelser tiltraadte han straks sin Reise.
230. The past participle in compound tenses formed by means of the auxiliary have is indeclinable; the past participle in compound tenses formed by means of the auxiliary være follows the gender and number of the subject in so far as it is susceptible to the corresponding inflection: Han er gaaet he is gone; de er (e) gaaede they are gone; jeg erkommen I have come; vi er(e) komme we have come; jeg er bleven (colloquially N. blit) meget syg I have grown very ill; vi er(e) blevne forviste fra vort Fæderland we have been expelled from our native country (colloquially in Norway: vi er blit (or blet) forvist.)
The past participle is often used as an adjective and may in that capacity also be employed as a substantive; the participle of intransitive verbs may then have an active signification: en bortreist Hand a man who has departed; et fortabt Faar a lost sheep.
THE PASSIVE VOICE.
231. As is seen from the paradigm § 208 the passive may be formed through all its tenses by means of the auxiliary blive; but in the present, imperfect and infinitive (accordingly also in the future) there also occurs another form ending in -es.
Note 1. The passive in -es is a formation peculiar to the Scandinavian group of the Teutonic languages. It was originally a medial or reflexive formation, the terminal s being derived from original -sk (representing the reflexive pronoun O. N. sik.) This original reflexive signification is retained in many words; ængstes–ængste sig to be alarmed; harmes, vredes to get angry; undres–undre sig to wonder, etc.
Note 2. The form in -s is sometimes used in a reciprocal signification: vi sees igjen we are going to see each other (i. e. to meet) again; mödes to meet; træffes to meet; slaas to fight; kappes to vie with each other; kives to quarrel; strides to dispute; næbbes to bill; mundhugges to quarrel; enes to agree, etc.
Sometimes the verb is used this way in connection with a preposition where the pronoun contained in the reflexive verb must be taken to be governed by the preposition; Ex. at tales ved to speak with each other (in Norway they still say dialectically tale ved en, generally tale med en); the preposition is used adverbially in skilles ad to separate, fölges ad to go to-gether ; hjælpes ad to assist each other.
232. Some verbs which only occur in passive form and some others, that have both an active and a passive form, but with an entirely different meaning, are called deponent verbs; Ex. lykkes to succeed; blues to be ashamed; længes to long; ældes to grow old; mindes to remember (but minde to remind), findes to exist (but finde to find), gives to exist (G. es giebt’ from give to give). These deponent verbs, and to this ​class are also counted many of the above mentioned reciprocal verbs, form a deponent participle; Ex. det har lykkedes (also lykkets, lyktes) mig I have succeeded in; jeg har længtes I have been longing. But this form is not very much in use and is generally avoided, whenever possible.
233. The two passive forms may in some instances be used promiscuously. But the form in -s is much more common than the other one, especially in the present tense and the infinitive (after the verbs skal, maa, bör etc.) The imperfect of the compound form occurs much more frequently than the present.
The compound form (blive rost to be praised) signifies the complete passivity, where all action on the part of the subject is wholly excluded, hence it is used to denote the single recorded fact, while the form in -s is used to denote a common condition or general rule.
The imperfect in -s is not used of strong verbs with radical vowel a in imperf. followed by two or more consonants: (not sanges but) blev sungen was sung; (not tvanges but) blev tvungen was forced; (not drakkes but) blev drukket was drunk; (not stjales but) blev stjaalen was stolen; note: fandtes existed, but blev funden was found; gaves existed, but blev given was given.
In the future passive the form jeg vil roses cannot be used except to denote: I wish to be praised. The simple future is either: jeg skal roses or jeg skal or vil blive rost, Ex. vilde hun inviteres? did she wish to be invited (E. Brandes: En Politiker.) The reason is that the verb vil and the ending in -s both imply so much activity, that they combined cannot possibly convey a passive meaning.
REFLEXIVE AND IMPERSONAL VERBS.
234. Reflexive verbs are those that always have as their object a pronoun denoting the same person as the subject; Ex. at skamme sig to feel ashamed; jeg skammer mig I feel ashamed, han skammer sig, vi skamme(r) os, I skamme(r) eder, de skamme(r) sig.
Transitive verbs may be used reflexively; Ex. at slaa sig to hurt one’s self (at slaa to beat); at vise sig to appear (at vise to show).
Note. At hænde, at hænde sig, at hændes all indicate: to happen; da hændte det, at–, da hændtes det, at–, da hændte det sig, at–, then it happened that.
235. Impersonal verbs are those that have only the demonstrative pronoun neut. det as subject; Ex. det regner it rains; det sner it snows, etc.; det dages it dawns; det vaares spring comes; or there may be a definite subject of the 3d person; Ex. Forsöget mislykkedes the attempt was unsuccessful. En Ulykke hændte a misfortune happened (only the active hænde can be used in this manner, not hændes or hænde sig.)
Any passive form may be used impersonally; intransitive verbs cannot be used in passive, except impersonally. Such intransitive verbs used impersonally do not take the subject det, but in its stead the demonstrative adverb der is used; Ex. der reises meget i Norge i Sommer there is much travel going on in Norway this summer. In poetry der may be omitted: nu tales jo lydt om, at Folket er vakt now they talk so much about the people being aroused.
* ↑ But N. række to reach is strong: rak, rukket.
* ↑ But N. strække til to be sufficient: strak, strukket.
* ↑ N. rende, rendte, rendt to run.
* ↑ always weak: undgjælde to pay the penalty of, gjengjælde to requite.
* ↑ Usually intr.; in transitive meaning is in Norway used röge: at röge Tobak to smoke tobacco (impf. rögte, ptcp. rögt).
* ↑ Not to be confounded with bryde to trouble, in Danish regularly conjugated: impf. bröd–ptc. brydt (or brudt), N. brydde (or bröd), ptc. brydd. That these two words are originally different is seen grom the fact that bryde to trouble in Norway is pronounced bry, while bryde to break is pronounced bryte.
* ↑ Always betydede when signifying: gave to understand.
* ↑ N. also graate.
* ↑ falden usually refers to a moral downfall; falden fra Himlen (himmelfalden) fallen from the skies, struck with amazement.
* ↑ holden is an adj. well-to-do.