It's basically like in English. If you have a verb that takes both a direct and an indirect object, you have two possibilities. Either you use the direct object first, but then the indirect object has to take a preposition:
- You give the book to me.
Or you use the indirect object first, then there's no preposition:
- You give me the book.
The same happens in Danish:
- Du rækker bogen til mig.
- Du rækker mig bogen.
The comments here are most helpful and much appreciated. Thank you to each of you for them. Question: In English we generally say and use the word " please" to ask someone to pass somrthing to me. As in, "Please pass me the salt " or would you please pass me the salt. Is this ever customary in Danish; and if it is, how would you say it? Thanks
Danish does have a way to say "please", but it's not done with a single word. Instead, it uses the phrase "at være så venlig" - "to be so kind".
- Ræk mig saltet. - Pass me the salt.
- Ræk mig venligst saltet. - Kindly pass me the salt. (Sounds a bit aggressive.)
- Vær så vænlig at række mig saltet. - Be so kind as to pass me the salt.
- Vil du være så venlig at række mig saltet? - Would you be so kind to pass me the salt?
- Må jeg bede om saltet? - May I ask for the salt?