findes

Findes is a Danish verb form derived from the infinitive at finde, meaning to find. In contemporary Danish, finde is conjugated as finder for the present indicative, while findes functions as a present passive or impersonal form used to express existence or discoverability. The phrase “Der findes” is a common existential construction meaning “There exists” or “There can be found.” The form often introduces a statement about what exists in a given context, for example: Der findes mange muligheder (There are many possibilities).

Origin and cognates: Findes originates from Old Danish and shares a family with cognate forms in other Scandinavian languages, such as Norwegian finnes and Swedish finns, which convey the same existential sense.

Usage and style: Findes is frequent in encyclopedic, academic, and formal prose, as well as in signs and catalog entries to indicate the presence or availability of items, places, or concepts. It is not the direct active form of “finde” in ordinary transitive usage.

Grammatical notes: The construction is typically impersonal or with an impersonal demonstrative subject and does not require a definite subject. It can be negated with ikke: Der findes ikke … (There does not exist …).

Cross-linguistic note: In Norwegian Bokmål the equivalent verb is finnes, and in Swedish it is finns, reflecting a shared Germanic heritage for existential expressions across the languages.