Breakdown of Du skal ringe til politiet hvis der er en nødsituation.
du
you
en
a / an (common)
til
to (preposition) / for (purpose) / at (an event or occasion) / at (good at something)
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
hvis
if
ringe
to call
politiet
the police
der er
there is, there are
nødsituationen
the emergency
Questions & Answers about Du skal ringe til politiet hvis der er en nødsituation.
What happens to the word order if I start the sentence with the hvis clause?
If you move the hvis (if) part to the beginning, the main clause must swap its subject and verb. The sentence becomes: Hvis der er en nødsituation, skal du ringe til politiet. This is because Danish main clauses must always have the verb in the second position.
Why do we use the word til after ringe?
In Danish, the verb at ringe (to call or ring) requires the preposition til when you are making a phone call to someone or an organization. You literally say that you call to the police (ringe til politiet).
How is the word nødsituation built?
It is a compound noun made from nød (need, distress, or emergency) and situation (situation). You will often see the word nød used in other emergency-related vocabulary, such as nødudgang (emergency exit).
Why does politi have -et at the end here?
In Danish, the definite article (the word for the) is attached to the end of the noun. Because politi is a t-word (neuter noun), it takes the ending -et to become politiet (the police).
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