Breakdown of Jeg kan ikke nå toget, hvis jeg har travlt.
Questions & Answers about Jeg kan ikke nå toget, hvis jeg har travlt.
In Danish, it’s very common (and usually recommended) to put a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by words like hvis (if), at (that/to), fordi (because), etc.
So …, hvis jeg har travlt is treated as an added clause, and the comma marks that boundary.
After hvis, Danish uses subordinate clause word order: the subject typically comes before the verb.
So it’s hvis jeg har travlt (literally: if I have busy), not hvis har jeg travlt.
Because the sentence starts with the main clause: Jeg kan ikke nå toget, and then adds the condition: hvis jeg har travlt.
If you front the hvis-clause (put it first), then the main clause will use V2 word order (verb in the second position), which causes inversion:
- Hvis jeg har travlt, kan jeg ikke nå toget.
Both are normal; they just differ in which part you put first.
At nå is broadly to reach / to make it (in time) / to catch. In this context, nå toget means manage to catch the train (i.e., get there before it leaves).
It’s not about physically touching the train; it’s about succeeding in time.
Both exist, but they’re used a bit differently:
- nå toget = catch the train / make the train (idiomatic, common)
- nå til toget = reach/get to the train (more literally focusing on arriving at the train)
In everyday travel contexts, nå toget is the standard phrasing.
Here kan ikke expresses possibility/ability in a practical sense: I can’t / I won’t be able to / I can’t manage to.
It’s not about permission (that would more often be må ikke = must not / may not).
In Danish main clauses, ikke typically comes after the finite verb (the verb that changes with tense/person) and before infinitives or other verb parts.
Here:
- finite verb: kan
- negation: ikke
- infinitive: nå
So: kan ikke nå.
Yes. toget means the train (a specific train the speaker has in mind—often “my train” or “the one I need”).
et tog would mean a train (any train), which usually isn’t what you mean when you’re trying to catch a particular departure.
At have travlt is a fixed expression meaning to be busy / to be in a hurry.
Although it literally uses have (have), you translate it like an English “be”-adjective phrase depending on context:
- Jeg har travlt = I’m busy / I’m in a hurry.
Yes. travlt covers both being busy and being rushed/pressed for time. In a travel context with trains, English often chooses in a hurry or pressed for time, but busy can also fit depending on the situation.
You’d typically use når for when (for general or repeated situations):
- Jeg kan ikke nå toget, når jeg har travlt. = I can’t catch the train when I’m in a hurry.
Hvis is conditional (if), while når often implies a regular pattern (when(ever)).
A few common pronunciation notes (approximate guidance):
- ikke: often sounds like ik’ in casual speech (the final -ke gets reduced)
- nå: has a long vowel (like a long “aw/oh” sound depending on accent)
- toget: the -et ending is often reduced; many speakers say something closer to to:wet / to:ət-like quality (varies by region)
If you want, I can give an IPA version in Standard Danish as well.