Breakdown of Hun går hurtigt til stationen, så hun kan nå toget.
Questions & Answers about Hun går hurtigt til stationen, så hun kan nå toget.
What does går mean here? Is she walking or just going?
Går is the present tense of gå. Its core meaning is walk, but in some contexts it can also feel like go.
In this sentence, because of hurtigt and til stationen, the most natural reading is that she is walking quickly to the station.
So går here is best understood as walks / is walking.
Why is it hurtigt and not hurtig?
Because hurtigt is being used as an adverb, not an adjective.
- hurtig = quick / fast as an adjective
- hurtigt = quickly / fast as an adverb
Examples:
- et hurtigt tog = a fast train
- hun går hurtigt = she walks quickly
In Danish, many adverbs are formed by adding -t to the adjective.
Why is hurtigt placed after går?
That is the normal position for an adverb of manner in Danish.
So:
- Hun går hurtigt til stationen = natural
- literally: She walks quickly to the station
The adverb hurtigt describes how she goes, so it usually comes after the verb and before the destination phrase.
English does something very similar:
- She walks quickly to the station
Why is it til stationen and not til den station or til station?
Stationen means the station.
Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun:
- station = station
- stationen = the station
So:
- til stationen = to the station
You would say til den station only if you want extra emphasis, like to that station or to the station in question.
What does the -en in stationen mean?
It is the definite ending for a common-gender noun.
- en station = a station
- stationen = the station
Danish has two grammatical genders:
- common gender: usually takes en
- neuter: usually takes et
That is why later in the sentence you get toget:
- et tog = a train
- toget = the train
Why is it toget?
Because tog is a neuter noun.
- et tog = a train
- toget = the train
So the ending -et is the neuter definite ending, while -en in stationen is the common-gender definite ending.
What does så mean here?
Here så means so or so that.
It connects the two parts of the sentence:
- Hun går hurtigt til stationen
- så hun kan nå toget
So the idea is: She walks quickly to the station so that she can catch the train.
In other contexts, så can also mean then, so learners often need to rely on context.
Why is it så hun kan nå toget and not så kan hun nå toget?
Because here så introduces a subordinate clause meaning so that.
After this kind of så, Danish uses subordinate-clause word order, so the subject comes before the finite verb:
- så hun kan nå toget
If you said så kan hun nå toget, it would usually sound more like then she can catch the train, where så acts more like then/so in a new main clause.
So in this sentence, så hun kan nå toget is the correct structure for the intended meaning.
What does nå mean here?
Here nå means something like reach in time, make, or catch.
So:
- nå toget = catch the train / make the train
This is a very common Danish use of nå with transport:
- nå bussen = catch the bus
- nå toget = catch the train
- nå flyet = catch the plane
It is about arriving in time, not physically grabbing something.
Why is kan used here?
Kan means can / is able to.
So:
- hun kan nå toget = she can catch the train
In this sentence, it expresses possibility or ability: by going quickly, she has a chance of making the train.
It is very natural in Danish to say kan nå in this kind of context.
Could you also say Hun går hurtigt til stationen for at nå toget?
Yes, absolutely.
That version means: She walks quickly to the station in order to catch the train.
The two versions are very close:
- så hun kan nå toget = so that she can catch the train
- for at nå toget = in order to catch the train
A small difference is that så hun kan nå toget slightly emphasizes the result/possibility, while for at nå toget sounds a bit more directly like purpose.
Both are good Danish.
Is the comma before så required?
You may see both versions in Danish, depending on the comma style being used.
- Hun går hurtigt til stationen, så hun kan nå toget.
- Hun går hurtigt til stationen så hun kan nå toget.
Many learners are taught to include the comma before a subordinate clause, and that is very common. But modern Danish punctuation allows different official comma systems, so both can appear.
So the comma in your sentence is normal and correct.
Is this sentence present tense only, or can it also refer to the near future?
Grammatically, it is in the present tense:
- går = present
- kan = present
But like English, Danish present tense can sometimes describe something happening right now, a habit, or even a near-future plan, depending on context.
So this sentence could mean:
- She is walking quickly to the station so she can catch the train or
- She walks quickly to the station so she can catch the train
Context decides which feels most natural.
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