Breakdown of Du skal ringe til politiet nu.
du
you
nu
now
til
to (preposition) / for (purpose) / at (an event or occasion) / at (good at something)
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
ringe
to call
politiet
the police
Questions & Answers about Du skal ringe til politiet nu.
Why is there a til after ringe?
In Danish, when you make a phone call to someone, you use the phrase ringe til (literally "ring to"). In English, you just say "call someone", but in Danish you need that extra little word!
Does skal mean "must" or "will"?
It can mean both! Skal is a modal verb that usually means "must" or "have to", like in this sentence. However, because Danish doesn't have a specific future tense word like "will", skal is also often used to express what you are going to do. Here, the urgency of calling the police makes "must" the natural translation.
Why is the word politiet instead of just politi?
Politiet means "the police". In Danish, the word for "the" is attached to the end of the noun. Because the basic word is et politi (an "et" word), we add -et to the end to make it politiet.
Can I put the word nu at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes, you can! You could say Nu skal du ringe til politiet. Just remember that Danish follows the "V2 rule", meaning the main verb must always be the second piece of information in the sentence. If you move nu to the front, the verb skal must come right after it, swapping places with du.
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