Toget kommer præcis klokken ni på stationen.

The train arrives exactly at nine o’clock at the station.

Breakdown of Toget kommer præcis klokken ni på stationen.

• komme: to come
• på: at
• toget: the train
• stationen: the station
• klokken: the time
• præcis: exactly
• ni: nine

Questions & Answers about Toget kommer præcis klokken ni på stationen.

What does Toget mean, and why is there no separate word for the?

Toget means the train.

In Danish, the definite article (the) is usually attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word:

• et tog = a train
• toget = the train

So:

• tog = train (bare stem)
• et = the indefinite article for neuter nouns
• -et = the definite ending for neuter nouns

You normally do not say det tog for the train. Det tog would mean that train or it took, depending on context. For the neutral the train, you just say toget.

Why is the verb kommer in the present tense if we are talking about a future time?

Danish often uses the simple present tense to talk about the near future, especially for scheduled events like timetables, plans, and arrangements.

So:

• Toget kommer præcis klokken ni på stationen.
  = The train arrives / will arrive exactly at nine at the station.

English would usually use either:

• The train arrives at nine, or
• The train is coming at nine, or
• The train will come at nine.

In Danish, simple present kommer covers all of these. You only need other future constructions (like vil komme, kommer til at komme) in more specific contexts, not for regular schedules.

Could I also say Toget ankommer præcis klokken ni, and what is the difference between kommer and ankommer?

Yes, you can say:

• Toget ankommer præcis klokken ni (til stationen).

Differences:

• kommer

  • Very common, everyday, neutral.
  • Works in many contexts: Han kommer i morgen (He is coming tomorrow), Bussen kommer nu (The bus is coming now).

• ankommer

  • More formal and specific: literally arrives.
  • Often used with transport, official notices, written language, or announcements.
  • Typically followed by til: Toget ankommer til stationen klokken ni.

In normal conversation about trains, Toget kommer klokken ni is perfectly natural. Toget ankommer may sound slightly more formal or announcement-like.

What exactly does præcis mean here, and what kind of word is it?

Præcis here means exactly, on the dot, sharp.

In this sentence it is an adverb modifying the time expression klokken ni:

• præcis klokken ni = exactly at nine o’clock

So the structure is:

• Toget kommer (The train comes)
• præcis (exactly)
• klokken ni (at nine o’clock)
• på stationen (at the station)

You can also say:

• Toget kommer klokken præcis ni på stationen.
• Toget kommer klokken ni præcis på stationen.

All are understandable. Præcis klokken ni is very common and natural.

What does klokken literally mean, and why do we say klokken ni for at nine o’clock?

Literally, klokken means the bell / the clock.

• en klokke = a bell/clock
• klokken = the bell/the clock

In time expressions, klokken is used idiomatically to mean o’clock. You do not usually translate at:

• klokken ni = nine o’clock (literally: the clock nine)
• Toget kommer klokken ni. = The train comes at nine.

So, instead of saying something like ved ni or på ni, Danish just uses klokken + number.

Why is there no word like at before klokken ni?

In Danish, you normally do not use a preposition with clock times. You simply use klokken + time:

• klokken ni = at nine
• klokken fem = at five
• klokken halv tre = at half past two (literally: half three)

So:

• English: The train arrives at nine.
• Danish: Toget kommer klokken ni. (no separate word for at)

The preposition is basically built into this fixed time expression with klokken.

Why is it på stationen and not i stationen or til stationen?

All three prepositions exist, but they mean different things here:

• på stationen

  • Means at the station (location).
  • Used for many public places:
    
    • på stationen (at the station)
    • på skolen (at school)
    • på arbejdet (at work)
    • på kontoret (at the office)

• til stationen

  • Means to the station (movement/direction).
  • Example: Vi går til stationen. = We are walking to the station.

• i stationen

  • Literally in the station, i.e. inside the building.
  • This is much less common and would only be used when you want to stress being physically inside, not just at the station as a place people arrive to.

In Toget kommer præcis klokken ni på stationen, we are talking about the station as the place where the train arrives, so på stationen is the natural choice.

What does the ending -en on stationen mean?

The ending -en marks the definite form (the) for common-gender nouns.

• en station = a station
• stationen = the station

Compare with tog:

• et tog = a train (neuter gender)
• toget = the train (definite neuter ending -et)

So in the sentence:

• Toget (the train) – neuter definite
• stationen (the station) – common-gender definite

Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun like this, instead of using a separate word like English the.

Is the word order of præcis klokken ni and på stationen fixed, or can I move the time and place around?

The given order is very natural:

• Toget kommer præcis klokken ni på stationen.
  Subject – verb – time – place

You can move them a bit:

1. Toget kommer klokken ni præcis på stationen.
   (still fine; slight stylistic difference)

2. Toget kommer på stationen præcis klokken ni.
   (grammatically correct, but less typical; sounds like you are slightly emphasising the place before the exact time)

If you put a place or time expression first, you must remember the verb-second rule (V2):

• På stationen kommer toget præcis klokken ni.
  At the station, the train comes exactly at nine.
  (place fronted → verb kommer stays in second position)

• Præcis klokken ni kommer toget på stationen.
  Exactly at nine, the train comes to/at the station.

So the time and place phrases can move, but:

• Main clauses keep the finite verb in second position.
• The most neutral order inside the clause is usually time before place.

How would you turn this sentence into a yes/no question in Danish?

You simply invert the subject and the verb:

• Statement: Toget kommer præcis klokken ni på stationen.
• Question: Kommer toget præcis klokken ni på stationen?

There is no helper verb like English do. You just put the finite verb (kommer) first, then the subject (toget), and keep the rest of the sentence as it is (with small possible variations in adverb placement if you want emphasis).

How do you pronounce toget and stationen?

Approximate, learner-friendly pronunciations:

• toget

  • Roughly: TOH-ðə or TOH-uh
  • The o is long, like the o in English go (but a bit more closed).
  • The g is not pronounced like a hard g; in standard speech it is very weak or disappears.
  • The -et ending is very reduced; the t is usually not strongly released.

• stationen

  • Roughly: sta-SHYO-nən
  • The sta- is like sta in station in English.
  • -tion- in Danish is pronounced with a sh-like sound: -sjon- / -shyon-.
  • The final -en sounds like a weak -un / -ən.

So said smoothly:

• toget ≈ TOH-ðə
• stationen ≈ sta-SHYO-nən

Can this sentence describe something that happens regularly (every day), or only a one-time event?

It can describe both, depending on context.

• As a timetable / regular schedule:
  Toget kommer præcis klokken ni på stationen.
  = The train (always) comes at nine sharp at the station.

• As a specific, one-time event (today, tomorrow, etc.):
  It can also mean that, especially if the context specifies the day:

  • I dag kommer toget præcis klokken ni på stationen.
    (Today the train is coming exactly at nine at the station.)

Danish simple present kommer is used both for general, habitual facts and for concrete future plans, so the sentence is naturally ambiguous without extra context.