Breakdown of Hvad for en motorsav bruger du til at skære isblokken?
du
you
bruge
to use / to spend (money, time) / to need (together with the modal of obligation)
at
to
til
to (preposition) / for (purpose) / at (an event or occasion) / at (good at something)
Questions & Answers about Hvad for en motorsav bruger du til at skære isblokken?
The current lesson is about 'stå til at' for projections. Does 'til at' mean something different here?
Yes! In this sentence, til at connects to the verb bruger to express the purpose of a tool, meaning 'for cutting' or 'in order to cut.' While stå til at is a specific phrase meaning 'slated to,' the structure til at plus an infinitive is the standard way to explain what something is used for in Danish.
Why use 'Hvad for en' instead of 'Hvilken'?
Hvad for en means 'what kind of' or 'which' and is extremely common in spoken and everyday written Danish. It is slightly more informal than hvilken. It uses en because the noun it describes, motorsav, is an en-word. For an et-word, you would use hvad for et.
Why is the 'k' doubled in 'isblokken'?
The base word is isblok. Danish spelling rules require you to double the final consonant when adding an ending (like the definite article -en) if the consonant follows a short, stressed vowel. This double 'k' tells the reader to keep the 'o' sound short in isblokken.
Can I drop the 'til' and just say 'bruger du at skære'?
No, you cannot drop it here. When talking about using a physical object to perform an action, Danish requires the preposition til before the infinitive at skære. Translating literally, it is like saying 'using for to cut.'