B1 Danish GrammarPast Perfect Tense
Describe actions completed before another past action using the Danish past perfect (førdatid). Form it with 'havde' + past participle and use it to establish clear sequences in storytelling, explanations, and complex narratives.
1Formation: havde + Past Participle
The Danish past perfect is formed with 'havde' (had) + the past participle of the main verb. The auxiliary 'havde' never changes form. The past participle typically ends in -et (Group 1/2) or -t (Group 3) for regular verbs. Irregular verbs have unique forms.
Past Perfect Formation
| Subject | Auxiliary | Past Participle | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| jeg | havde | spist | I had eaten |
| du | havde | sovet | you had slept |
| han/hun | havde | været | he/she had been |
| vi | havde | gået | we had gone |
| de | havde | set | they had seen |
Examples
Jeg havde allerede spist, da hun kom.
I had already eaten when she came.
havde + spist (past participle)
De havde boet i København i ti år.
They had lived in Copenhagen for ten years.
havde + boet
Han havde aldrig set havet før.
He had never seen the sea before.
havde + set (irregular)
Vi havde lige gået, da det begyndte at regne.
We had just left when it started raining.
havde + gået (irregular)
2Past Participle Forms by Verb Group
Danish verbs form their past participle differently based on their conjugation group. Group 1 (-er verbs) typically add -et, Group 2 (-te verbs) add -t, and irregular verbs have unique forms. The past participle is the same form used with 'har' in present perfect.
Past Participle by Verb Group
| Group | Infinitive | Past Participle | Past Perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | arbejde | arbejdet | havde arbejdet |
| 2 | købe | købt | havde købt |
| 2 | læse | læst | havde læst |
| irreg | skrive | skrevet | havde skrevet |
| irreg | give | givet | havde givet |
Examples
Hun havde arbejdet hele dagen.
She had worked all day.
Group 1: arbejde → arbejdet
Jeg havde læst bogen inden filmen.
I had read the book before the movie.
Group 2: læse → læst
De havde købt huset året før.
They had bought the house the year before.
Group 2: købe → købt
Han havde skrevet tre bøger.
He had written three books.
Irregular: skrive → skrevet
3Using Past Perfect for Sequence
Use past perfect to show that one action happened before another in the past. The earlier action takes past perfect (havde + participle), while the later action takes simple past (præteritum). Common time markers: inden (before), allerede (already), lige (just), aldrig før (never before).
Time Sequence
| Earlier Action (Past Perfect) | Later Action (Simple Past) |
|---|---|
| Jeg havde spist | da hun ringede |
| De havde gået | inden vi kom |
| Han var faldet i søvn | da filmen begyndte |
| Vi havde mødt hinanden | inden vi blev gift |
Examples
Toget havde allerede kørt, da jeg kom til stationen.
The train had already left when I arrived at the station.
allerede emphasizes completion
Inden jeg flyttede til Danmark, havde jeg aldrig set sne.
Before I moved to Denmark, I had never seen snow.
inden + past perfect for earlier event
Hun var lige vågnet, da telefonen ringede.
She had just woken up when the phone rang.
lige = just (immediate prior action)
De havde kendt hinanden i mange år, inden de blev et par.
They had known each other for many years before they became a couple.
duration before past event
4Past Perfect in Reported Speech and Conditionals
Past perfect is used in reported speech when the original statement was in present perfect or simple past. It also appears in unreal conditionals about the past (hvis + past perfect, ville have + participle). This follows similar patterns to English.
Reported Speech Shift
| Direct Speech | Reported Speech |
|---|---|
| Jeg har gjort det. | Hun sagde, at hun havde gjort det. |
| Vi spiste middag. | De fortalte, at de havde spist middag. |
| Jeg så filmen. | Han sagde, at han havde set filmen. |
Examples
Hun sagde, at hun havde glemt sine nøgler.
She said that she had forgotten her keys.
reported speech with past perfect
De fortalte, at de havde besøgt Paris.
They told us they had visited Paris.
fortalte + past perfect
Hvis jeg havde vidst det, ville jeg have hjulpet dig.
If I had known, I would have helped you.
unreal past conditional
Jeg ønskede, at jeg havde studeret mere.
I wished that I had studied more.
ønskede + past perfect for regret