Breakdown of Kassen er til at opbevare alt legetøjet.
være
to be
legetøjet
the toy
at
to
kassen
the box
til
to (preposition) / for (purpose) / at (an event or occasion) / at (good at something)
alt
everything / all (neuter, before a noun)
opbevare
to store
Questions & Answers about Kassen er til at opbevare alt legetøjet.
Why do we use til at opbevare here instead of for at opbevare?
In Danish, when you describe the built-in function or utility of an object (what it is used for), you use til at followed by the infinitive verb. You cannot use for at here, because for at means "in order to" and is only used when someone takes an action with a specific intention.
Can I just say til opbevaring instead of til at opbevare?
Yes, you can! If you use a noun like opbevaring (storage), you just use til by itself: Kassen er til opbevaring. But because opbevare (to store) is a verb, you must use til at to connect the action to the function of the box.
Why does the sentence use alt legetøjet instead of the plural alle legetøjene?
Even though we say "all the toys" in plural in English, the Danish word legetøj is a neuter mass noun, much like "furniture" or "luggage" in English. Because it is treated as a singular neuter concept, it gets the singular definite ending -et (legetøjet) and pairs with the neuter singular word for "all", which is alt (rather than the plural alle).
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