Breakdown of Jeg løber hver dag for at forbedre formen.
jeg
I
løbe
to run
hver dag
every day
for at
in order to (+ infinitive) / so that (+ clause)
forbedre
to improve
formen
the shape
Questions & Answers about Jeg løber hver dag for at forbedre formen.
Why do we use for at instead of just at for "to improve"?
In English, we often just say "to improve", but it really means "in order to improve". In Danish, when you want to show the purpose or reason for doing something (in order to), you must use for at followed by the infinitive verb. Using just at wouldn't clearly express this purpose.
The English translation says "my fitness", so why does the Danish sentence use formen (the fitness) instead of min form?
In Danish, when you talk about your own body, health, or even clothes, it is very common to use the definite ending (here, the -en in formen) instead of a possessive word like min (my). Since you are the one running, it is already obvious that it is your own fitness you are improving.
Does formen literally translate to "fitness"?
It literally means "the shape" or "the form". Just like we say "to get in shape" in English, Danish uses the word form to talk about your physical condition or fitness level.
Why doesn't forbedre end in an -r like løber does?
The main action happening right now is løber (run), which gets the present tense -r ending. However, forbedre (improve) comes directly after for at, which requires the infinitive (the basic dictionary form) of the verb. In Danish, infinitives usually end in a vowel and do not take an -r.
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