Prepositions with Infinitives
In English, when a verb follows a preposition, it usually takes an "-ing" form (for example, "experience with working"). In Danish, you instead use the preposition followed by at and the infinitive of the verb.
The formula is simply: Preposition + at + infinitive verb.
Notice how this works with common professional skills, using prepositions like med (with) and til (at/to):
| The candidate has experience with collaborating. | Kandidaten har erfaring med at samarbejde. |
| The manager is good at working independently. | Lederen er god til at arbejde selvstændigt. |
| I am ready to present the idea at the job interview. | Jeg er klar til at præsentere ideen til jobsamtalen. |
Expressing Purpose with "For at"
To say that you are doing something "in order to" achieve a goal, use the fixed phrase for at.
| in order to (+ infinitive) / so that (+ clause) | for at |
Just like the previous examples, it is immediately followed by the infinitive of the action you intend to do.
| She sends the application in order to get the job. | Hun sender ansøgningen for at få jobbet. |
| The secretary arrives early in order to organize the meeting. | Sekretæren ankommer tidligt for at organisere mødet. |
Other Preposition Pairings
This pattern applies across the board in Danish. You will see it when talking about doing something (om at), being tired of doing something (af at), or achieving a result by doing something (ved at).
| At the job interview, we talk about collaborating. | Til jobsamtalen taler vi om at samarbejde. |
| He is tired of reading the long application. | Han er træt af at læse den lange ansøgning. |
| Can you solve the problem by working independently? | Kan du løse problemet ved at arbejde selvstændigt? |
