Hvis bilen ikke bremser, må vi ringe til mekanikeren.

Hvis means if.

It introduces a condition:

• Hvis bilen ikke bremser = If the car doesn’t brake / If the car isn’t braking properly

So the sentence has the same basic structure as English:

• If X happens, we must do Y

Because bilen means the car, while bil means car.

In Danish, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun:

• bil = car
• bilen = the car

This is very common in Danish:

• mekaniker = mechanic
• mekanikeren = the mechanic

So bilen is not a different word root—it is just bil with the definite ending.

Bremser is the present tense of at bremse = to brake.

So:

• at bremse = to brake
• bremser = brakes / is braking

In this sentence, ikke bremser means doesn’t brake.

Danish present tense is often very simple compared with English. You do not need different forms like brake/brakes/am braking depending on the subject. The same present-tense form is used:

• jeg bremser = I brake / I am braking
• du bremser = you brake
• bilen bremser = the car brakes

Because in this clause, ikke negates the verb phrase, and Danish normally places ikke before the main verb in a subordinate clause.

Here, Hvis bilen ikke bremser is a subordinate clause introduced by hvis.

A useful pattern is:

• subordinating word + subject + ikke + verb

So:

• Hvis bilen ikke bremser = If the car does not brake

This is different from many main clauses in Danish, where word order often changes because of the V2 rule.

Compare:

• Bilen bremser ikke. = The car doesn’t brake.
• Hvis bilen ikke bremser ... = If the car doesn’t brake ...

So the placement of ikke is normal for this kind of clause.

Here må means must / have to, not may.

This is a very common point of confusion for English speakers because må looks a bit like English may, but in this sentence it expresses necessity:

• må vi ringe = we must call / we have to call

Examples:

• Jeg må gå nu. = I must go now.
• Du må vente. = You have to wait.

Sometimes må can also express permission depending on context, but in this sentence the meaning is clearly necessity.

Because after a modal verb like må, Danish uses the bare infinitive—that is, the infinitive without at.

So:

• at ringe = to call
• må ringe = must call

This is similar to English:

• we must call
• not we must to call

Other common Danish modal verbs work the same way:

• kan ringe = can call
• vil ringe = will / want to call
• skal ringe = must / will call

Because ringe til means to call someone in Danish.

So:

• ringe til mekanikeren = call the mechanic

This is one of those cases where Danish uses a preposition where English often does not.

Compare:

• English: call the mechanic
• Danish: ringe til mekanikeren

So til is part of the normal expression here.

Mekanikeren means the mechanic, while en mekaniker means a mechanic.

The sentence uses the definite form because it refers to a specific mechanic—the one you would call in that situation.

• mekaniker = mechanic
• en mekaniker = a mechanic
• mekanikeren = the mechanic

A native English speaker might expect a separate word for the, but Danish usually adds the definite ending to the noun instead.

The comma separates the conditional clause from the main clause:

• Hvis bilen ikke bremser, = subordinate clause
• må vi ringe til mekanikeren. = main clause

So the comma helps show:

• If the car doesn’t brake, / we must call the mechanic.

This is standard and makes the sentence easier to read.

Yes. You could also say:

• Vi må ringe til mekanikeren, hvis bilen ikke bremser.

This means the same thing: We must call the mechanic if the car doesn’t brake.

Both orders are natural:

• Hvis bilen ikke bremser, må vi ringe til mekanikeren.
• Vi må ringe til mekanikeren, hvis bilen ikke bremser.

The first version puts more focus on the condition.

Because Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

In this sentence, the first position is already taken by the whole subordinate clause:

• Hvis bilen ikke bremser = position 1

So the finite verb comes next:

• må = position 2

Then comes the subject:

• vi

That is why you get:

• Hvis bilen ikke bremser, må vi ringe til mekanikeren.

If the sentence started directly with the subject, then you would get:

• Vi må ringe til mekanikeren.

So the word order changes because the sentence begins with the hvis-clause.

Literally, bremser means brakes or is braking, from at bremse.

So the most direct translation is:

• If the car doesn’t brake, we must call the mechanic.

Depending on context, a more natural English translation might sometimes be:

• If the car won’t brake
• If the car isn’t braking properly

But the Danish verb itself specifically refers to braking, not just stopping in a general sense.

A very natural English version might be:

• If the car won’t brake, we’ll have to call the mechanic.
• If the car doesn’t brake, we have to call the mechanic.

The Danish sentence is completely normal, but English often uses will have to or won’t brake in this kind of real-life situation. That is a translation choice, though—the Danish grammar itself is straightforward:

• Hvis = if
• bilen = the car
• ikke bremser = doesn’t brake
• må vi = we must / we have to
• ringe til mekanikeren = call the mechanic