*Der er* (There Is/Are) in Danish

In Brief

Use der er to say that something exists or is present: Der er en kat i haven means “There is a cat in the garden.” The same form works with one thing and several things, because Danish er does not change: Der er en kat and Der er to katte. In a question, reverse the order to er der; for the past, use der var.

Overview

The construction der er introduces a person, thing, situation, or quantity into the conversation. In grammar, this is called an existential construction: a pattern that says something exists or is available. The word der fills the subject position, while the person or thing being introduced usually comes after er.

This is an A1 pattern and one of the most useful pieces of everyday Danish. You need it to ask whether a shop is nearby, say what is in a room, describe a problem, check availability, or tell someone how many people are coming. It corresponds closely to English “there is” and “there are,” but Danish is simpler in one important way: der er never changes for singular and plural.

Here, der does not normally mean a physical location. In Der er en stol i køkkenet, the phrase i køkkenet tells you where the chair is; the initial der merely sets up the existential sentence. Danish also has a locative der meaning “there,” so it is important to learn how the two uses differ.

How It Works

The basic pattern

The beginner rule is straightforward:

der + form of være + person/thing + optional place or time

Pattern	Danish	English
Present, singular	Der er en ledig stol.	There is an available chair.
Present, plural	Der er tre ledige stole.	There are three available chairs.
Past, singular	Der var en fejl.	There was an error.
Past, plural	Der var flere fejl.	There were several errors.

The verb være means “to be.” Its present form is er, and its past form is var. Neither form changes according to person or number. That is why Danish does not make the English distinction between “there is” and “there are.”

Statements, negatives, and questions

In a normal main-clause statement, der comes before the verb. A main clause is a sentence, or part of a sentence, that can stand on its own. To make it negative, put ikke after the finite verb—the verb carrying the tense. To ask a yes/no question, put the verb first.

Function	Structure	Danish	English
Statement	der + er + ...	Der er et apotek her.	There is a pharmacy here.
Negative	der + er + ikke + ...	Der er ikke et apotek her.	There is not a pharmacy here.
Question	er + der + ...?	Er der et apotek her?	Is there a pharmacy here?
Negative question	er + der + ikke + ...?	Er der ikke et apotek her?	Isn’t there a pharmacy here?

Short answers often repeat only what is needed:

• Ja, det er der. — Yes, there is.
• Nej, det er der ikke. — No, there isn’t.
• Jo, det er der. — Yes, there is. Use jo when answering a negative question or contradicting a negative assumption.

The det in these answers is part of the Danish answer pattern. Do not translate it word by word as “it.”

Saying that none or not any exists

Danish offers two common ways to express absence:

• der er ikke nogen/noget ... — there is not any / there are not any
• der er ingen/intet ... — there is no / there are no

Use nogen with common-gender nouns and plural count nouns, and noget with neuter or uncountable nouns. Ingen and intet are the corresponding forms meaning “no.” You do not need to master all of that article and gender system to use a few frequent phrases as complete units.

Danish	English	Note
Der er ikke nogen bus efter midnat.	There is no bus after midnight.	Literally, “There isn’t any bus.”
Der er ingen bus efter midnat.	There is no bus after midnight.	More compact.
Der er ikke noget brød tilbage.	There isn’t any bread left.	Brød is neuter and uncountable here.
Der er intet brød tilbage.	There is no bread left.	Correct but often more emphatic or formal than ikke noget.
Der er ingen problemer.	There are no problems.	Ingen also works before a plural noun.

Past, future, perfect, and modal patterns

At A1, the most important tense contrast is der er versus der var. Later, the same der pattern combines with other verb forms. A modal verb is a verb such as “can,” “may,” or “must” that adds possibility, permission, or necessity.

Form	Danish	English
Present	Der er et møde i dag.	There is a meeting today.
Past	Der var et møde i går.	There was a meeting yesterday.
Perfect	Der har været et problem.	There has been a problem.
Future	Der vil være et møde i morgen.	There will be a meeting tomorrow.
Possibility	Der kan være forsinkelser.	There may be delays.
Necessity	Der skal være plads til alle.	There must be room for everyone.

A participle is a verb form used with an auxiliary verb (a helping verb) to build forms such as the perfect. In har været, har is the auxiliary and været is the past participle of være.

Word order when another element comes first

Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule, meaning that the finite verb normally occupies the second slot. If a place or time expression is moved to the beginning, the verb comes next and der follows it:

• I køleskabet er der mælk. — There is milk in the refrigerator.
• I morgen er der koncert på torvet. — Tomorrow there is a concert in the square.
• Efter mødet var der kaffe. — After the meeting, there was coffee.

The whole opening phrase counts as one slot. English often keeps “there” before the verb, but Danish word order changes because the opening phrase has taken the first position.

In a subordinate clause—a clause that depends on another part of the sentence—der stays before er, and words such as ikke normally come before the verb:

• Jeg tror, at der er plads. — I think there is room.
• Hun siger, at der ikke er mere kaffe. — She says there is no more coffee.
• Ved du, om der er en hæveautomat i nærheden? — Do you know whether there is an ATM nearby?

Der er versus det er

English uses “there” in the existential construction and “it/that” for identification. Danish makes a similar distinction:

Use	Danish	English	Note
Introducing something	Der er en hund udenfor.	There is a dog outside.	The dog is new information.
Identifying something	Det er naboens hund.	It is the neighbor’s dog.	You identify the dog.
Introducing an event	Der er fest på lørdag.	There is a party on Saturday.	The event is presented.
Describing a situation	Det er hyggeligt.	It is cozy.	Det refers to the situation.

A useful test is to ask whether you mean “something exists/is present” or “this/it is something.” Choose der er for the first meaning and det er for the second. The distinction is not based simply on the English word “it”: Danish may use det to describe weather or a general situation, as in Det er koldt i dag (“It is cold today”).

Examples in Context

Danish	English	Note
Der er en kat i haven.	There is a cat in the garden.	Singular, present.
Der er mange mennesker her.	There are many people here.	Plural uses the same er.
Er der en bank i nærheden?	Is there a bank nearby?	Verb first in a yes/no question.
Der er ikke noget sukker i skabet.	There isn’t any sugar in the cupboard.	Negative with ikke noget.
Der er to billetter tilbage.	There are two tickets left.	Useful for availability.
Hvor mange gæster er der?	How many guests are there?	Question phrase first, then er der.
Hvad er der i tasken?	What is in the bag?	Asking about contents.
Der var engang en prinsesse.	Once upon a time there was a princess.	Traditional story opening.
Der var ingen busser i går.	There were no buses yesterday.	Past and plural.
På anden sal er der et lille køkken.	On the second floor, there is a small kitchen.	Place first triggers er der.
Jeg ved ikke, om der er tid nok.	I don’t know whether there is enough time.	Der er inside a subordinate clause.
Der har været en misforståelse.	There has been a misunderstanding.	Perfect form.
Der kan være glat på vejene.	The roads may be slippery.	Literally, “There may be slippery conditions on the roads.”
Næste uge kommer der en ny kollega.	A new colleague is joining us next week.	Presentational der with kommer.

Common Mistakes

Using det er to introduce something

• Wrong: Det er en kat i haven. (intended: “There is a cat in the garden.”)
• Right: Der er en kat i haven.
• Why: The sentence introduces the cat’s presence, so it needs existential der. Use det er when identifying or describing something: Det er min kat (“It is my cat”).

Keeping statement order in a neutral question

• Wrong: Der er en bank i nærheden?
• Right: Er der en bank i nærheden?
• Why: A standard Danish yes/no question begins with the finite verb. Statement order can sometimes be heard as a surprised echo question, but it is not the neutral beginner pattern.

Omitting der after the question word

• Wrong: Hvor mange stole er i lokalet?
• Right: Hvor mange stole er der i lokalet?
• Why: In an existential question, der still fills the subject position. The question phrase hvor mange stole has simply moved to the front.

Putting ikke before the verb in a main clause

• Wrong: Der ikke er mere kaffe.
• Right: Der er ikke mere kaffe.
• Why: In a main clause, ikke follows the finite verb. The order der ikke er belongs inside a subordinate clause: Jeg kan se, at der ikke er mere kaffe.

Forgetting V2 after a place or time phrase

• Wrong: I morgen der er et møde.
• Right: I morgen er der et møde.
• Why: When i morgen occupies the first slot, the finite verb must come second in standard Danish main-clause word order.

Treating locative der as the existential pattern

• Wrong: Der er bogen. (intended as the neutral statement “The book is there.”)
• Right: Bogen er der.
• Why: In the intended sentence, bogen is the subject and der indicates a location. Initial Der er bogen! is possible in a special pointing or discovery context—“There’s the book!”—but it does not have the same neutral structure.

Usage Notes

One form for any quantity

Danish er remains unchanged whether the following noun phrase is singular, plural, countable, or uncountable. A noun phrase is a noun together with words that belong to it, such as an article, adjective, or number.

• Der er én besked. — There is one message.
• Der er ti beskeder. — There are ten messages.
• Der er vand på gulvet. — There is water on the floor.

English-speaking learners sometimes pause to choose between “is” and “are.” In Danish, do not look ahead to the quantity: the present form is always er.

New information usually comes later

The person or thing after er is often indefinite—introduced with en/et, a number, or a quantity word—because der er commonly presents new information. Once that thing is established, Danish will usually make it the ordinary subject:

• Der er en ny café på hjørnet. Caféen åbner klokken syv. — There is a new café on the corner. The café opens at seven.

This is a strong tendency, not an absolute ban on definite expressions. In pointing, listing, or suggesting possibilities, speakers may say things such as Der er Peter (“There’s Peter”) or Der er også toget (“There is also the train”). Beginners will sound most natural if they first master der er with new or indefinite information.

Spoken and written Danish

The words der er are often pronounced quickly and may run together in speech. Standard spelling still uses two words. Listen for the whole pattern rather than expecting both words to be equally prominent.

The standalone question Hvad er der? can mean “What is there?”, but context and tone can also give it the idiomatic meaning “What’s wrong?” Similarly, Hvem er der? means “Who is there?”

Beyond the Basics

You do not need to produce all of these patterns at A1, but you will meet them as your Danish develops.

Presentational der with other verbs

Danish can use der with verbs other than være to present something new. The verb may add movement, position, or an event:

• Der kommer en bus om fem minutter. — A bus is coming in five minutes.
• Der står en cykel foran døren. — There is a bicycle standing in front of the door.
• På bordet ligger der et brev. — There is a letter lying on the table.
• Der opstod et problem. — A problem arose.

These are often more vivid than a plain der er sentence. Notice that the V2 rule still applies when another element comes first: På bordet ligger der ...

Existential passives

In formal notices, reports, and descriptions of arrangements, der frequently appears with the passive voice—a form that focuses on what happens rather than who performs the action:

• Der bliver serveret morgenmad fra klokken syv. — Breakfast is served from seven o’clock.
• Der blev truffet en beslutning. — A decision was made.
• Der må ikke ryges her. — Smoking is not allowed here.

These sentences still present an event or state of affairs, even though they do not contain er.

Der findes for existence

Der findes means “there exists/there are” and makes existence more explicit. It is common when stating that examples, types, solutions, or resources exist:

• Der findes flere løsninger. — There are several solutions.
• Der findes ikke vilde tigre i Danmark. — There are no wild tigers in Denmark.

In ordinary descriptions of what is present in a room or available now, der er is usually the simpler choice. Der findes can sound more general or factual.

Other meanings of der

Not every der is existential. Besides the locative “there,” der can introduce a relative clause—a clause that describes a noun:

• Kvinden, der bor ovenpå, er læge. — The woman who lives upstairs is a doctor.

Here der means “who/that” and has nothing to do with der er. Recognizing the surrounding structure will help you tell these uses apart.

Practice Tips

1. Build four versions of each sentence. Start with Der er en café her, then make a negative, a question, and a past statement: Der er ikke ..., Er der ...?, Der var .... This trains both tense and word order.
2. Describe real places. Look around your kitchen, street, or workplace and make five true sentences. Include one singular noun, one plural noun, and one uncountable item: Der er en lampe, Der er to vinduer, Der er kaffe.
3. Listen for inversion. When Danish audio begins with a time or place phrase, pause and predict the next words: I dag er der ..., På stationen er der .... This turns the V2 rule into a familiar rhythm rather than an abstract rule.

Related Concepts

• Prerequisite: Være (to be) — learn the forms er, var, and været that build the central der constructions.