Breakdown of Vi skal støtte hinanden i samfundet.
vi
we
i
in
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
støtte
to support
hinanden
each other
samfundet
the society
Questions & Answers about Vi skal støtte hinanden i samfundet.
How does hinanden work in this sentence?
Hinanden means "each other." In this sentence, it acts as the direct object of the verb støtte (support). It shows that the action goes both ways: we support them, and they support us.
Since society has many people, shouldn't we use a different word than hinanden for "each other"?
In older Danish, hinanden was only for two people, and a different word (hverandre) was used for three or more. In modern Danish, however, hinanden is used for any number of people. You will rarely hear hverandre today.
Why is the verb støtte in the infinitive form instead of the present tense støtter?
Because it is used with the modal verb skal (must). Just like in English, a Danish modal verb is followed by the infinitive form of the main verb, without the word at (to).
English just says "in society", but the Danish sentence uses samfundet. Why is there an -et at the end?
The -et at the end of samfund (society) is the definite ending, making it "the society." English often leaves out "the" when talking about society in a general, abstract way, but Danish usually requires the definite form samfundet.
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