Breakdown of Måtte jeg bede dig om at oversætte dette?
jeg
I
dig
you (singular object)
at
to
måtte
to be allowed to / must
dette
this (neuter)
om
about (concerning)
bede
to ask (for)
oversætte
to translate
Questions & Answers about Måtte jeg bede dig om at oversætte dette?
Why is the past tense måtte used when the speaker is asking for something right now?
Just like in English, Danish uses the past tense of modal verbs to make a request more polite. By using måtte (might/was allowed to) instead of the present tense må (may), the request feels less direct and much softer.
I thought modal verbs take a verb without at. Why is it at oversætte here?
You are right that modal verbs take the bare infinitive! Here, the modal måtte is paired directly with bede (to ask), which correctly has no at. The second verb, oversætte, is connected to the phrase bede dig om (ask you to). Because it follows the preposition om, it needs the full infinitive at oversætte.
Why do we need the word om in this sentence?
In Danish, when you ask someone to do a favor or ask for something, you use the fixed phrase at bede (nogen) om (noget). Literally, this translates to asking someone 'about' something. Without om, the sentence would sound incomplete to a Danish speaker.
Could I use det instead of dette at the end of the sentence?
Yes, you could use det (that/it), but dette (this) is more specific and slightly more formal. Because the sentence uses the highly polite måtte jeg bede dig, using the formal dette fits the respectful tone perfectly and points directly to the specific text that needs translating.
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