Ring til mig når som helst, hvis vandhanen begynder at dryppe igen.

In Danish, the verb ringe normally takes the preposition til when you mean call someone.

• at ringe til nogen = to call someone
• Ring til mig = Call me

This is different from English, where call me has no preposition. So for an English speaker, til is something you simply have to remember with this verb.

Ring is the imperative form of the verb at ringe.

• at ringe = to call
• ring! = call!

Danish imperatives are often formed by dropping the final -e from the infinitive:

• at komme → Kom!
• at vente → Vent!
• at ringe → Ring!

So the sentence begins with a command or instruction: Call me...

Når som helst means any time, whenever, or at any time whatsoever.

It is a fixed expression:

• når = when
• som helst adds the sense of any / no matter which

So:

• Ring til mig når som helst = Call me any time

You will also see som helst with other question words:

• hvem som helst = anyone
• hvad som helst = anything
• hvor som helst = anywhere

So this is a very useful pattern to learn.

They do different jobs.

• når som helst is part of the fixed expression meaning any time / whenever
• hvis means if

So the sentence is structured like this:

• Ring til mig når som helst = Call me any time
• hvis vandhanen begynder at dryppe igen = if the tap starts dripping again

A common learner mistake is to confuse når and hvis. Very roughly:

• når often relates to when something happens
• hvis introduces a condition: if

Here, når is not introducing the condition; hvis is.

Vandhanen means the tap or the faucet.

It is made up of:

• vand = water
• hane = tap / faucet / cock
• -en = the definite ending

So:

• en vandhane = a tap / a faucet
• vandhanen = the tap / the faucet

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

Compare:

• en bil = a car
• bilen = the car

After begynde (to begin / to start), Danish often uses at before another infinitive.

• begynde at dryppe = begin to drip / start dripping

So the pattern is:

• begynde at + infinitive

Examples:

• Han begynder at græde = He starts crying
• Det begynder at regne = It starts raining

In everyday Danish, you may sometimes hear begynder og in speech, but standard written Danish here is begynder at dryppe.

Dryppe means to drip.

In this sentence, it describes water coming out in drops from the tap. So it is a very natural verb here.

Related words:

• en dråbe = a drop
• at dryppe = to drip
• at lække = to leak

A tap can dryppe if water comes out drop by drop. Something can lække if it is leaking more generally. In this sentence, dryppe is the most precise choice.

Igen means again, and putting it at the end is very natural in Danish.

• hvis vandhanen begynder at dryppe igen = if the tap starts dripping again

The final position gives a smooth, natural rhythm. Danish word order often places adverbs like igen later in the clause.

You might sometimes see igen in other positions in other sentences, but here the end position is the normal one.

This is a subordinate clause introduced by hvis.

The order is:

• hvis = if
• vandhanen = subject
• begynder = finite verb
• at dryppe = infinitive phrase
• igen = adverb

So the clause keeps the normal subject-verb order:

• hvis vandhanen begynder...

That is different from main-clause inversion, which you often get in Danish after a fronted element.

For example:

• I morgen ringer jeg til dig
  Here the adverbial I morgen comes first, so the verb ringer comes before the subject jeg.

But after a conjunction like hvis, you do not do that kind of inversion.

Because hvis vandhanen begynder at dryppe igen is a subordinate clause.

In modern Danish punctuation, it is standard to put a comma before a subordinate clause introduced by words like:

• hvis = if
• fordi = because
• når = when
• at = that

So the comma helps show the structure:

• main clause: Ring til mig når som helst
• subordinate clause: hvis vandhanen begynder at dryppe igen

Yes, but the given placement is the most natural here.

• Ring til mig når som helst = very natural
• Når som helst, ring til mig... = possible, but more marked or dramatic
• Ring når som helst til mig = possible, but less neutral

So the sentence as written sounds smooth and idiomatic.

It is completely normal. Danish often uses the imperative in practical, friendly instructions.

So Ring til mig... can sound:

• helpful
• natural
• direct without being rude

If you wanted to sound softer, you could say something like:

• Du kan bare ringe til mig... = You can just call me...
• Du må gerne ringe til mig... = Feel free to call me...

But the original sentence is perfectly natural.

Yes. Which English word you choose mostly depends on your variety of English.

• tap = more common in British English
• faucet = more common in American English

So vandhanen can correspond to either one. The Danish word itself is fine in both contexts.

Yes, but the meaning and tone change.

• Ring til mig = Call me
• Du kan ringe til mig = You can call me
• Ringer du til mig...? = Will you call me...? / Are you calling me...?

So the original uses the imperative because it is giving an instruction or invitation. That matches the context very well: Call me any time if the tap starts dripping again.