Jeg betaler kontant ved kassen, hvis terminalen ikke virker.

I pay in cash at the counter if the terminal doesn’t work.

Breakdown of Jeg betaler kontant ved kassen, hvis terminalen ikke virker.

• jeg: I
• hvis: if
• ikke: not
• ved: at
• virke: to work
• kassen: the counter
• betale: to pay
• terminalen: the terminal
• kontant: in cash

Questions & Answers about Jeg betaler kontant ved kassen, hvis terminalen ikke virker.

Why is it Jeg betaler and not Jeg betale?

Because Danish verbs conjugate for tense, not for person.

• betaler = present tense (pay / am paying)
• betale = infinitive (to pay)
  So you say jeg betaler, du betaler, han/hun betaler (same form for all persons).

What does kontant mean, and how is it used here?

kontant means in cash / cash. In this sentence it’s used like an adverb describing how you pay: betaler kontant = pay cash / pay in cash.
You’ll also see it after a noun: kontant betaling = cash payment.

Why does Danish say ved kassen instead of something like “in the cash register”?

ved literally means by / at. ved kassen is the natural Danish way to say at the checkout / at the register (i.e., where you pay).
It refers to the checkout area, not inside the physical machine.

What exactly is kassen—the “cash register” or the “cashier”?

In everyday Danish, kassen usually means the checkout/register as a place or station. Depending on context, it can also refer to the cash register system or the checkout desk.
If you specifically mean the person, you’d more often say kasseassistenten (checkout assistant) or just refer to personen i kassen.

Why is there a comma before hvis?

Because Danish commonly uses a comma to separate a main clause from a subordinate clause:

• Main clause: Jeg betaler kontant ved kassen
• Subordinate clause: hvis terminalen ikke virker
  In modern Danish, some comma rules are optional depending on style, but this comma is very normal and clear.

How does hvis work here—does it mean “if” or “when”?

hvis means if (a condition that may or may not happen).
If you meant something more like “when/whenever” as a regular situation, Danish might use når:

• ... hvis terminalen ikke virker = if the terminal doesn’t work (maybe it will, maybe it won’t)
• ... når terminalen ikke virker = when/whenever the terminal doesn’t work (as a recurring/expected situation)

Why is it terminalen and not en terminal?

terminalen is the definite form: the terminal. Danish often uses the definite form when talking about a specific, known thing in the situation—here, the card payment terminal at the checkout.

• en terminal = a terminal (indefinite, any terminal)
• terminalen = the terminal (a specific one)

Why is ikke placed before virker?

In subordinate clauses (like the hvis-clause), Danish typically places ikke before the verb:

• ... hvis terminalen ikke virker
  In a main clause, ikke usually comes after the finite verb:
• Terminalen virker ikke. (The terminal doesn’t work.)

Why is the verb virker at the end of the hvis-part?

Because Danish subordinate clauses normally keep a more “straight” word order: subject → (ikke/adverbs) → verb.
So you get: terminalen (subject) + ikke (negation) + virker (verb).
In main clauses, Danish has V2 word order (the finite verb comes early): Terminalen virker ikke.

Is betaler here “I pay” or “I am paying”?

It can cover both. Danish present tense often maps to either simple present or present continuous in English, depending on context.
Here, Jeg betaler kontant ... could mean:

• a general habit (“I pay cash…”) or
• a situational choice at the moment (“I’m paying cash…”).
  Context decides, not verb form.

Could the sentence start with the condition: Hvis terminalen ikke virker, betaler jeg...?

Yes, and that’s very common. If you move the hvis-clause to the front, Danish requires inversion in the main clause (verb before subject):

• Hvis terminalen ikke virker, betaler jeg kontant ved kassen.
  Notice betaler jeg (not jeg betaler) because the clause-initial hvis-part counts as the first element, triggering V2 order in the main clause.