Word
Hvilket tog passer bedst, og hvilken billet skal vi købe?
Meaning
Which train fits best, and which ticket should we buy?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Hvilket tog passer bedst, og hvilken billet skal vi købe?
og
and
vi
we
købe
to buy
bedst
best
toget
the train
hvilket
which
passe
to fit
hvilken
which
billetten
the ticket
skulle
should
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Questions & Answers about Hvilket tog passer bedst, og hvilken billet skal vi købe?
Why is it “hvilket” in the first clause but “hvilken” in the second?
Because the interrogative agrees with the gender/number of the noun:
- hvilket
- neuter singular nouns (et-words): hvilket tog (et tog)
- hvilken
- common gender singular nouns (en-words): hvilken billet (en billet)
- hvilke
- all plural nouns: hvilke tog/billetter
Examples:
- Hvilket tog passer bedst?
- Hvilken billet skal vi købe?
- Hvilke billetter er billigst?
Why is there no inversion in the first clause, but there is in the second?
In Danish wh-questions:
- If the wh-element is the subject, you do NOT invert: Hvilket tog (subject) passer bedst?
- If the wh-element is not the subject, you do invert (V2): Hvilken billet (object) skal (verb) vi (subject) købe?
Compare:
- Subject question: Hvilket tog passer bedst?
- Object question: Hvilket tog skal vi tage? (Here “hvilket tog” is the object, so you get inversion: skal vi …)
Could I say “Hvilket tog skal vi tage?” instead of “Hvilket tog passer bedst?” What’s the difference?
- Hvilket tog passer bedst? asks which train best suits your needs/schedule.
- Hvilket tog skal vi tage? asks directly which train you should take. They’re often interchangeable in travel contexts, but the first focuses on “best fit,” the second on the actual choice to take.
Does skal here mean “must” or “should/shall”?
It depends on context:
- Obligation: Du skal købe billet. = You must buy a ticket.
- Plan/arrangement: Jeg skal til Aarhus i morgen. = I’m going to Aarhus tomorrow.
- Suggestion/decision-making (common in questions): Hvilken billet skal vi købe? ≈ Which ticket should we buy?
In your sentence, it’s advice/decision-oriented (“should/shall”), not strict obligation.
Why is købe in the bare infinitive (no “at”) after skal?
Danish modals (skal, kan, vil, må, bør, kunne, ville, måtte) take a bare infinitive:
- Vi skal købe en billet.
- Vi kan købe online. No at is used after these modals.
Do I need an article after hvilken/hvilket?
No. Hvilken/hvilket/hvilke already do the job of “which,” so you don’t add an article:
- Correct: Hvilken billet skal vi købe?
- Incorrect: Hvilken en billet skal vi købe?
Why is there a comma before og? Can I drop it?
The sentence coordinates two independent wh-questions. Danish allows (and many styles recommend) a comma before og when it links two main clauses. Modern rules also allow omitting it. So both are acceptable:
- With comma: Hvilket tog passer bedst, og hvilken billet skal vi købe?
- Without comma: Hvilket tog passer bedst og hvilken billet skal vi købe?
Should there be a question mark after each clause?
No. One question mark at the end covers the entire coordinated question. You don’t put a question mark after the first clause.
How do I say it if I mean more than one train or more than one ticket?
Use the plural form hvilke:
- Hvilke tog passer bedst?
- Hvilke billetter skal vi købe?
Can I use hvad instead of hvilket/hvilken?
Not directly before a noun. Use hvilket/hvilken/hvilke with nouns. An idiomatic alternative is hvad for et/en/nogle:
- Hvad for et tog passer bedst? (≈ Which train…)
- Hvad for en billet skal vi købe?
- Hvad for nogle billetter er billigst?
What’s the difference between bedst and bedste?
- bedst = superlative used predicatively/adverbially: Det her tog passer bedst.
- bedste = adjectival superlative used attributively (often with a determiner): Det bedste tog er det direkte. / Hvilket er det bedste tog? So your sentence uses bedst because it modifies how well it “fits/suits.”
How does the word order change in an indirect (embedded) question?
- Object question (no “der”): Jeg vil gerne vide, hvilken billet vi skal købe. (No inversion inside the subordinate clause.)
- Subject question adds der: Jeg vil gerne vide, hvilket tog der passer bedst. (Danish typically inserts der when the wh-element is the subject of the embedded clause.)
Could tog be confused with the past tense of tage (tog = took)?
Not here. Hvilket must be followed by a noun, so hvilket tog can only mean “which train.” The verb tog (“took”) cannot follow hvilket in this way.
Do I need til after passer (e.g., “passer bedst til …”)?
It depends on what you’re matching:
- General suitability: Hvilket tog passer bedst? (fine on its own)
- Matching with something: passer bedst til/“fits with” is common when you name the counterpart:
- Hvilket tog passer bedst til vores tidsplan?
- Den her afgang passer bedst med vores planer. Both patterns are idiomatic; use til/med when you explicitly state what it should fit.
Can I move bedst elsewhere in the clause?
Natural placement is after the finite verb: passer bedst. Other placements are either unidiomatic or require heavier restructuring (e.g., focus constructions). Stick with “… passer bedst” in neutral statements and questions.