Breakdown of Jeg bruger tid på at lære dansk.
jeg
I
dansk
Danish
at
to
lære
to learn
bruge tid på
to spend time on
Questions & Answers about Jeg bruger tid på at lære dansk.
Why is bruger used here when it usually means "to use"?
In Danish, you don't "spend" time or money using a different verb like we do in English. Instead, you "use" them. So, at bruge tid means "to spend time", and at bruge penge means "to spend money".
Why is there a på (on) in this sentence?
The Danish phrase for "to spend time doing something" is at bruge tid på (literally "to use time on"). The preposition på is required right before you state what the time is being spent on.
The English translation says "learning", but the Danish sentence uses at lære (to learn). Why?
Danish doesn't have an "-ing" form (a gerund) that acts like a noun. When English uses an "-ing" verb after a preposition like "on", Danish simply uses the infinitive form with at. So, "on learning" becomes på at lære.
Why isn't the language dansk capitalized?
Unlike in English, names of languages and nationalities are never capitalized in Danish unless they are the very first word of a sentence.
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