Breakdown of Jeg er nødt til at gå nu.
jeg
I
nu
now
at
to
gå
to walk / to go / to go out, to fail (of power)
være nødt til
to have to, to be forced to
Questions & Answers about Jeg er nødt til at gå nu.
Why does this sentence use er (am) instead of har (have) for "have to"?
In Danish, the phrase for "have to" is er nødt til. You use er (am) because nødt acts like an adjective describing your state, much like saying "I am obligated to" in English. It is a very common mistake for English speakers to try and use har (have) here, but it must always be er!
What exactly does the word nødt mean?
Nødt comes from the noun nød, which means "need" or "emergency". By itself, it implies being compelled or forced by circumstances. You will almost always see it used in this specific chunk: er nødt til at (am obliged to / have to).
Wait, doesn't at gå mean "to walk"?
It can mean "to walk", but it is also used for "to leave" or "to depart", which is what it means here. Be careful: if you want to say you are going to a specific destination (like going to the cinema or the supermarket), you usually cannot use at gå unless you are specifically walking there on foot. For general travel to a destination, you would use at tage instead.
Why are both til and at placed before the verb?
The phrase er nødt til is a fixed expression ending with the preposition til. When you follow this expression with an action, Danish grammar requires the infinitive marker at (to) before the verb. So you get til from the fixed phrase, directly followed by at gå (to go).
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