for ... til at

Too ... to (For ... Til at)

Level 3

The Danish construction for [adjective/adverb] til at [verb] is the equivalent of the English 'too ... to'. It indicates that a threshold has been crossed, making a specific action impossible or inappropriate.

How It Works

In Danish, expressing excess that prevents an action requires a specific frame. Unlike English, which uses a single 'to', Danish requires the preposition til before the infinitive marker at.

1. Structure:
The basic formula is: for + [Adjective/Adverb] + til at + [Infinitive Verb].

  • Han er for ung til at køre bil. (He is too young to drive a car.)

2. Adjective Agreement:
The adjective in the middle must still follow standard adjective agreement rules based on the subject:

  • Common: Manden er for gammel...
  • Neuter: Huset er for stort...
  • Plural: Børnene er for små...

3. Word Order with Negation:
If you need to add a negation like ikke to the infinitive part, it must come after the infinitive marker at:

  • Han er for klog til ikke at forstå det. (He is too smart not to understand it.)

4. Pronunciation Note:
In spoken Danish, at often sounds like 'å'. Because of this, you might see native speakers mistakenly write 'og' instead of 'at'. Always use at before the verb in writing.

Examples (5)

  1. Det er for godt til at være sandt.

    It is too good to be true.

    Word by Word: It is too good to to be true.

    A very common idiom using the standard 'for ... til at' structure.

  2. Kaffen er for varm til at drikke.

    The coffee is too hot to drink.

    Word by Word: Coffee-the is too hot to to drink.

    Here, 'varm' describes the coffee, and 'til at drikke' explains why it cannot be consumed yet.

  3. De er for trætte til at gå en tur.

    They are too tired to go for a walk.

    Word by Word: They are too tired to to go a walk.

    Note that 'trætte' is in the plural form to agree with 'de'.

  4. Han taler for hurtigt til at jeg kan følge med.

    He speaks too fast for me to keep up.

    Word by Word: He speaks too fast to that I can follow with.

    When a new subject (jeg) is introduced, 'at' acts as a conjunction for a full clause.

  5. Opgaven var for svær til at løse.

    The task was too difficult to solve.

    Word by Word: Task-the was too difficult to to solve.

    Using the past tense 'var' does not change the 'for ... til at' structure.

Common Mistakes

  • Omitting the word 'til'.

    Han er for ung at køre.
    Han er for ung til at køre.

    English speakers often forget 'til' because English only uses 'to'. In Danish, 'til' is mandatory in this construction.

  • Confusing 'for ... til at' with 'for at'.

    Jeg løber for til at tabe mig.
    Jeg løber for at tabe mig.

    'For at' means 'in order to' (purpose). 'For ... til at' means 'too ... to' (excess). Don't mix them up!

  • Writing 'og' instead of 'at'.

    Det er for dyrt til og købe.
    Det er for dyrt til at købe.

    Because 'at' and 'og' sound similar in speech, learners often write 'og'. Remember that 'at' is the infinitive marker.

How It Connects

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

for ... til atLevel 3Too ... to (For ... Til at)

Learn This First

To learn the 'for ... til at' construction, you need to understand how to use adjectives to describe a subject and how to form the infinitive with 'at'. The pattern combines the intensifier 'for' (too) with a prepositional infinitive phrase 'til at' to express that a quality is too extreme for a certain action to take place.

Words in This Pattern

tilat