Word
Politiet siger at vi skal passe på.
Meaning
The police say that we must be careful.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Politiet siger at vi skal passe på.
vi
we
sige
to say
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
at
that
Questions & Answers about Politiet siger at vi skal passe på.
Why is the word for police, politiet, singular when English treats it as plural?
In English, we say "the police are", treating them as a plural group. In Danish, politi is a singular neuter noun (et politi). The -et ending makes it politiet (the police). You can think of it as a single unit, like "the police force".
Does skal mean "will" or "must" in this sentence?
Here it means "must". While skal is frequently used as a helping verb to talk about future plans (like "will" or "going to"), its direct meaning is "must" or "have to". The sentence means the police are telling us we have an obligation to be careful.
How does passe på mean "be careful"?
At passe på is a very common fixed expression. By itself, the verb at passe means "to fit" or "to look after". However, when you combine it with på (on/at), the entire phrase specifically means "to watch out", "to take care", or "to be careful".
How is siger pronounced? Do I pronounce the 'g'?
No, the 'g' is completely silent! It doesn't even get the Danish "soft g" sound. The word siger is pronounced very softly, sounding almost exactly like the English word "see-er".