Breakdown of Hvor end vi smider ankeret, skal besætningen være klar.
være
to be
vi
we
hvor
where
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
Questions & Answers about Hvor end vi smider ankeret, skal besætningen være klar.
How does the phrase hvor end change the meaning compared to just using hvor?
Adding end to a question word creates a structure meaning 'no matter [question word]'. So, hvor end means 'wherever' or 'no matter where'. If you just said Hvor vi smider ankeret, it would simply mean 'At the location where we drop the anchor', losing the emphasis that the specific location doesn't change the outcome.
Why is the verb and subject inverted to skal besætningen in the second half of the sentence?
This happens because of the Danish V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire first clause (Hvor end vi smider ankeret) counts as the first position in the overall sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, skal must come right after the comma, before the subject besætningen.
Could we use a verb like kaster (throw) instead of smider for dropping the anchor?
You would be understood, but at smide anker is the standard, fixed maritime phrase in Danish, much like 'to drop anchor' in English. Using kaster would sound slightly overly literal to a native speaker.
Besætningen refers to a group of people. Why isn't the adjective klar in the plural form klare?
Even though a crew is made up of multiple people, the grammatical noun en besætning is singular. Since it is a singular noun, the adjective describing it must stay in its basic singular form, klar.