Breakdown of Du skal bremse når farten er for høj.
være
to be
du
you
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
for
too
når
when
høj
tall, high
bremse
to brake
farten
the speed
Questions & Answers about Du skal bremse når farten er for høj.
Why is there no at before bremse?
Because skal is a modal verb. Just like in English where we say 'must brake' instead of 'must to brake', Danish modal verbs are followed directly by the infinitive form of the main verb without the word at.
Why do we use når here instead of da for 'when'?
In Danish, når is used for things happening in the present or future, or for repeated actions (like 'whenever'). The word da is only used for a single, specific event in the past. Since this sentence describes a general, ongoing rule about braking, når is the correct choice.
Could I use hastigheden instead of farten?
Yes, absolutely. Both mean 'the speed' and are often used interchangeably. Farten is slightly more common in everyday speech for general motion or pace, while hastigheden is a bit more technical and often refers to a precisely measured rate, like a speed limit. In this driving context, both work perfectly.
How do we know for means 'too' here instead of 'for'?
When the word for is placed directly in front of an adjective like høj (high), it functions as an adverb meaning 'too' or 'excessively'. If it were acting as the preposition 'for', it would be followed by a noun or a pronoun instead.
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