Breakdown of De skal ikke arbejde på torsdag.
arbejde
to work
de
they
ikke
not
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
Questions & Answers about De skal ikke arbejde på torsdag.
Why isn't torsdag capitalized here?
In Danish, days of the week, months, and seasons are written with lowercase letters unless they are the very first word in a sentence. So, it is written as torsdag and not with a capital T.
What does på torsdag mean exactly? Is it just any Thursday?
Using på with a day of the week, like på torsdag, usually refers specifically to the upcoming Thursday. To talk about Thursdays in general (like "I work on Thursdays"), you would use a different form, om torsdagen.
I learned that skal means "must". Why does the translation say "are not going to"?
While skal can mean "must" or "have to", it is also the most common way to talk about future plans in Danish. When you pair skal with another verb like arbejde, it usually translates to "going to" or "will".
Why does ikke come between skal and arbejde?
In a standard Danish sentence, the main verb (skal) is always the second idea. The negative word ikke (not) comes right after it. The second verb (arbejde) is in its dictionary form (the infinitive) and gets pushed to the end of the sentence.