Breakdown of Han har ikke lyst til at tage overarbejdet, men han har brug for pengene.
han
he
ikke
not
tage
to take / to make (a decision)
at
to
Questions & Answers about Han har ikke lyst til at tage overarbejdet, men han har brug for pengene.
How does "have lyst til" work when you want to add an action?
Have lyst til translates to "to want to" or "to feel like". When you follow it with an action, you must use the infinitive marker at before the verb. In this sentence, it connects to tage (to take), becoming har lyst til at tage.
Why is "ikke" placed between "har" and "lyst"?
In Danish main clauses, adverbs like ikke must come immediately after the conjugated verb. Even though have lyst til functions as a single concept in our minds, have is still the main verb and lyst is its object. Therefore, ikke naturally splits them to maintain the correct word order.
Is "have brug for" related to the lesson's grammar point?
Yes! Have brug for (to need) is another fixed phrase built exactly like the ones in this lesson: have + noun + preposition. In the first half of the sentence, the preposition til is followed by a verb (at tage), but in the second half, the preposition for is simply followed by a noun (pengene). Both patterns are very common.
Why does the sentence use "pengene" for "the money" instead of just "penge"?
In Danish, penge (money) is a plural noun. To say "the money", you have to add the definite plural suffix -ne, which makes it pengene.