Breakdown of Du må hellere bare tage chancen selvom du er nervøs.
være
to be
du
you
nervøs
nervous
tage
to take / to make (a decision)
Questions & Answers about Du må hellere bare tage chancen selvom du er nervøs.
How does the word bare change the tone of this sentence?
In this sentence, bare acts as a softener and an encourager. Without it, Du må hellere tage chancen sounds like a strict command or a strong warning. Adding bare turns it into supportive advice, making it sound more like "Go on, just take the chance."
Why do we use må hellere to mean "had better"?
The phrase må hellere literally translates to "must rather," but it is the standard Danish equivalent for the English phrase "had better." Notice that unlike English, which uses the past tense "had," Danish uses the present tense modal verb må followed by the comparative adverb hellere. Because må is a modal verb, the action verb that follows it (tage) must be in the infinitive form without at.
Why does bare come right after hellere instead of before it?
Both hellere and bare act as central adverbs here. In a main clause, central adverbs normally come right after the first verb (må) and its subject (Du). When stacking them, the fixed phrase må hellere stays together, so bare attaches directly to the end of it, placing the focus directly on the action that follows: tage chancen.
Why is the word order du er nervøs normal after selvom? Doesn't Danish often swap the subject and verb?