Early Modern Danish
Facts
- Language: Early Modern Danish
- Alternate names:
- Language code: ddane
- Language family: Indo-European, Classical Indo-European, Germanic, Northwest Germanic, North Germanic, South Scandinavian, Nuclear Danish
- Dialect of: Danish
- Number of speakers: Extinct
- Script: Latin script
More information:
Introduction
Early Modern Danish was spoken from 16th century onwards in Denmark and Norway. It's the predecessor of today's Danish. Unlike in today's Danish, the verbs were conjugated in number.
The Danish Verb
The infinitive forms of Danish verbs end in a vowel, which in almost all cases is the letter e.
Verbs are conjugated according to tense and number.
Sample weak verb: bage
In weak verbs the number is distinguished in present only.
| Infinitive | bage |
| Present singular | bager |
| Present plural | bage |
| Past singular & plural | bagede |
(Compare these verb forms with corresponding conjugations in today's Danish.)
More Verbs
- bage to bake,
- føre to drive,
- søge to search,
- tåle to endure
Sample strong verb: skrive
In strong verbs the number is distinguished both in present and past.
| Infinitive | skrive |
| Present singular | skriver |
| Present plural | skrive |
| Past singular | skrev |
| Past plural | skreve |
References
- Knudsen, Knud. Haanbog i dansk-norsk sproglaere. Kristiania, 1856.
- Barðal, Jóhanna et al.. Nordiska. Våra språk förr och nu. Lund, 2001.