Apathy and Reluctance: Gider
When you cannot be bothered to do something, use the verb gide (present tense: gider).
Like modal verbs, gider takes a bare infinitive—meaning you drop at (to) before the action. It frequently pairs with ikke to mean "cannot be bothered to."
| Today I cannot be bothered to iron the shirt. | I dag gider jeg ikke stryge skjorten. |
| Normally we don't bother to fold the clothes. | Normalt gider vi ikke folde tøjet. |
You can also use it in questions to ask if someone is up for a task:
| Who can be bothered to polish the mirror in the bathroom? | Hvem gider pudse spejlet på badeværelset? |
Courage and Phobias: Tør
To express having (or lacking) the courage to do something, use turde (present tense: tør), meaning "dare to."
Just like gider, tør takes a bare infinitive.
| She does not dare to touch the big snake. | Hun tør ikke røre ved den store slange. |
| The boy does not dare to sleep alone in the dark. | Drengen tør ikke sove alene i mørket. |
| He is quite afraid of the spider and does not dare to lift it. | Han er temmelig bange for edderkoppen og tør ikke løfte den. |
Contrasting Gider and Tør
Because both verbs follow the same grammatical rule, they are easy to contrast when explaining exactly why you are avoiding something:
| The woman dares to touch the snake, but she actually cannot be bothered. | Kvinden tør røre ved slangen, men hun gider faktisk ikke. |
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