Breakdown of Du skal tjekke reservationen i dag.
du
you
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
i dag
today
tjekke
to check
reservationen
the reservation
Questions & Answers about Du skal tjekke reservationen i dag.
Where would I put jo in this sentence to add the meaning 'as you know'?
It would go immediately after the first verb, skal. You would say: Du skal jo tjekke reservationen i dag. Adding jo here softens the instruction by reminding the listener of a task they already know they need to do.
Why does skal translate to 'have to' here instead of 'will'?
While skal is often used to talk about future plans (like 'will' or 'shall' in English), its primary meaning is obligation, just like 'must' or 'have to'. Since checking a reservation is usually a required task or duty, obligation is the natural translation here.
Why isn't there an at (to) before the verb tjekke?
Skal is a modal verb. Just like with 'must' or 'can' in English, Danish modal verbs are followed directly by the bare infinitive of the action verb. You never use at immediately after a modal verb.
How do we know it means 'the reservation' and not 'a reservation'?
In Danish, the definite article ('the') is expressed by adding a suffix to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word in front. The base word is en reservation (a reservation). By attaching that -en to the end, it becomes reservationen (the reservation).
Is tjekke borrowed directly from English?
Yes, it comes from the English word 'check'. Danish has adopted many English words and adapted them to fit Danish spelling and grammar rules. Here, it takes the standard Danish -e ending to form the infinitive.
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