Breakdown of Min nye vaskemaskine er til at vaske alt tøjet.
være
to be
ny
new
min
my
vaske
to wash
tøjet
the clothes
at
to
til
to (preposition) / for (purpose) / at (an event or occasion) / at (good at something)
alt
everything / all (neuter, before a noun)
vaskemaskinen
the washing machine
Questions & Answers about Min nye vaskemaskine er til at vaske alt tøjet.
Why do we use til at vaske instead of just for at vaske?
In Danish, til at plus an infinitive (like vaske) is used to describe the function or utility of an object—what it is used for. While for at means 'in order to' (showing the intent behind a person's action), til at shows what a thing is designed to do. Here, it translates perfectly to the English 'for washing'.
Why does the adjective nye end in '-e' when there is only one washing machine?
Because of the possessive pronoun Min (my). Possessive pronouns trigger the definite form of adjectives. When an adjective is definite, it takes the -e ending, even if the noun is singular. So it is en ny vaskemaskine (a new washing machine) but min nye vaskemaskine (my new washing machine).
Why is the word for 'all' spelled alt here?
It has to agree with the gender of the noun it modifies. The word for clothes, tøj, is a neuter noun. Since the definite form tøjet is neuter singular, 'all' takes the neuter ending -t, becoming alt.
Is tøj a singular word in Danish? English uses the plural 'clothes'.
Yes! In Danish, tøj is a singular mass noun, very similar to the English word 'clothing'. That is why it takes the singular definite ending -et to become tøjet, rather than taking a plural ending.
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