Breakdown of Du kan spare en time hvis du tager toget.
du
you
en
a / an (common)
tage
to take / to make (a decision)
kunne
to be able to / can
toget
the train
timen
the hour
hvis
if
spare
to save (money, time)
Questions & Answers about Du kan spare en time hvis du tager toget.
Why does time mean "hour" instead of "time"?
In Danish, en time is a false friend that specifically means "an hour" on the clock. If you want to talk about "time" in a general sense, you should use the word tid, or gang if you mean occurrences like "one time".
I thought "to save" was redde. Why do we use spare in this sentence?
You use spare when talking about conserving resources like time, money, or energy. The word redde is used for rescuing someone or something from danger, like saving a life. So to save time, it is always spare tid or spare en time.
Why is the word order hvis du tager and not inverted to hvis tager du?
Hvis starts a subordinate clause. In Danish subordinate clauses, the subject always comes right before the verb. You only invert the verb and subject in the main clause if you flip the whole sentence around so the "if" clause comes first: Hvis du tager toget, kan du spare en time.
Is tager toget the most natural way to say you are traveling by train?
Yes, at tage toget is the most common and natural phrasing, exactly like "to take the train" in English. You might also hear kører med toget (riding with the train), but tager toget is perfect for everyday choices about how to get somewhere.
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