Han ankommer tidligt til skolen.

the school

Breakdown of Han ankommer tidligt til skolen.

• ankomme: to arrive
• tidligt: early
• til: at
• han: he

Questions & Answers about Han ankommer tidligt til skolen.

Why do we say “ankommer” here instead of “kommer”?

“Ankommer” literally means arrives, and it's a bit more formal, often used in contexts like timetables or official references. “Kommer” means comes and is more common in day-to-day speech. In everyday Danish, you might hear Han kommer tidligt i skole just as often, but ankommer emphasizes the action of arrival more formally.

What is the difference between “Han” and “Ham” in Danish?

In Danish, Han means he—it’s the subject form. Ham means him—it’s the object form. Since, in this sentence, he is performing the action of arriving, we use Han rather than Ham.

Why is “skolen” in the definite form (with -en) instead of “skole”?

Danish adds suffixes to manage definiteness. Skole is the indefinite form (meaning a school), while skolen means the school. Here, because we're likely talking about a specific school he attends or arrives at habitually, skolen is used.

What is the purpose of “til” in this sentence?

Til translates roughly to to or towards in English. It indicates direction or movement towards a place. In this sentence, it shows that he’s arriving to the school. Sometimes, people also say Han ankommer tidligt i skole, but til skolen clearly emphasizes arrival at the location.

Is the word order “Han ankommer tidligt til skolen” typical in Danish?

Yes, the word order here—subject (Han), verb (ankommer), adverb (tidligt), and then the prepositional phrase (til skolen)—is standard Danish word order. The adverb tidligt naturally follows the verb, and the phrase til skolen comes at the end, describing where he arrives.