kan nå at

Have Time to (Nå at)

Level 4

The Danish construction nå at + infinitive means 'to manage to' or 'to have time to' do something within a specific time limit. It focuses on temporal success—finishing an action before a deadline.

How It Works

The verb nå literally means 'to reach.' When followed by at + infinitive, it shifts meaning to 'managing to complete an action' before a window of opportunity closes.

Key Characteristics:

  • Structure: [Subject] + [nå] + [at] + [infinitive verb].
  • The 'At' Marker: Unlike modal verbs, nå is a full verb and requires the particle at. In spoken Danish, at is often reduced to a short 'å' sound.
  • Deadline Focus: It implies there is a point in time after which the action cannot be done (e.g., a train leaving, a store closing, or a meeting starting).

Nå at vs. Have tid til:
Learners often confuse these two. Have tid til refers to having the leisure or space in your schedule. Nå at refers to the physical or temporal possibility of finishing something before it's too late. You might have tid til to go to the bakery, but if you arrive at 5:01 PM and they closed at 5:00 PM, you didn't nå at buy bread.

Examples (5)

  1. Jeg nåede ikke at spise morgenmad i morges.

    I didn't manage to eat breakfast this morning.

    Word by Word: I reached not to eat breakfast in morning.

    This implies the speaker was in a rush and the time for breakfast passed before they could eat.

  2. Kan vi nå at se filmen færdig?

    Can we manage to finish the movie?

    Word by Word: Can we reach to see film finished?

    The speaker is asking if there is enough time left before another event (like leaving or going to bed) to finish the film.

  3. Han nåede lige at fange bussen.

    He just managed to catch the bus.

    Word by Word: He reached just to catch bus-the.

    The word 'lige' (just) is often used with 'nå at' to emphasize that it happened at the very last second.

  4. Vi skal skynde os, hvis vi skal nå at handle.

    We have to hurry if we are going to manage to shop.

    Word by Word: We shall hurry us, if we shall reach to shop.

    Uses 'nå at' to indicate that the shops might close soon.

  5. Jeg håber, at jeg når at blive færdig til tiden.

    I hope that I manage to be finished on time.

    Word by Word: I hope, that I reach to become finished to time-the.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the 'at' before the infinitive.

    Jeg nåede ikke spise.
    Jeg nåede ikke at spise.

    Unlike modal verbs like 'kan' or 'vil', 'nå' is a lexical verb and requires the infinitive marker 'at'.

  • Using 'have tid til' when time running out before a deadline is meant.

    Different MeaningJeg har ikke tid til at købe mælk, før butikken lukker.
    Jeg når ikke at købe mælk, før butikken lukker.

    Both are correct, but they say different things. 'Jeg har ikke tid til' says you are too busy. 'Jeg når ikke at' says the time will run out before the shop closes.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

kan nå atLevel 4Have Time to (Nå at)

Learn This First

To understand 'kan nå at', you need to be familiar with the modal verb 'kan' and how it combines with other verbs in the infinitive. Additionally, you must understand how 'at' is used to link 'nå' to a subsequent action.

Words in This Pattern

nåatkunne