Breakdown of Hvornår kommer toget? — Klokken halv fire.
komme
to come
fire
four
toget
the train
klokken
the clock; o'clock, the time (of day)
halv
half
hvornår
when?
Questions & Answers about Hvornår kommer toget? — Klokken halv fire.
Why does the Danish sentence say halv fire (half four) for half past three?
In Danish, the half-hour always looks ahead to the next hour. So halv fire literally means 'halfway to four', which is 3:30. If you wanted to say half past four, it would be halv fem.
How do we know toget means 'the train' and not just 'a train'?
In Danish, the word for 'the' attaches to the end of the noun. The word for 'a train' is et tog. Because it is an 'et' word, you add -et to the end to say 'the train', giving you toget.
Why is the verb kommer before the subject toget?
Danish puts the verb before the subject to turn a statement into a question. So while the statement is toget kommer (the train comes), the question becomes kommer toget?. Danish doesn't use helper words like 'does' for questions.
Why is Klokken used here?
Klokken literally means 'the clock'. Danes use it right before the number to tell the time, similar to 'o'clock' in English. Also, notice that you don't need a word for 'at' in the Danish reply; Klokken halv fire covers the whole meaning.
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