Transitive verbs

Transitive verbs are verbs that take a direct object: You tell (fortælle) someone something.

An error often seen in translations into Danish is that "fortælle" is translated without a direct object.

The error becomes more obvious when you turn the sentence around. Then, it reads:

Hvis du er gravid, skal du fortælle din læge (If you are pregnant, tell your doctor. A Danish reader would ask the question "tell him what?"). 

If you use the verb "fortæl", add "det" as the direct object:

Fortæl det til din læge, hvis du er gravid.

If you turn the sentence around, it now reads:

Hvis du er gravid, skal du fortælle det til din læge (If you are pregnant, you should tell this to your doctor).