Breakdown of Hvornår skal vi diskutere hvem der styrer protesten?
vi
we
hvem
who
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
hvornår
when?
der
who, which (relative, subject)
styre
to manage / to control, to operate
diskutere
to discuss
protesten
the protest
Questions & Answers about Hvornår skal vi diskutere hvem der styrer protesten?
Why is there a der after hvem in this sentence?
This is the core rule for indirect questions. In the second part of the sentence, hvem (who) is the subject because it is the one doing the managing. Whenever a question word like hvem or hvad is the subject of a subordinate clause, Danish requires you to insert the dummy word der right after it.
What would happen if hvem was the object instead of the subject?
You would drop the der. For example, if the phrase meant 'who we are managing', it would be hvem vi styrer. Because vi is the subject doing the action in that case, the dummy der is not needed.
Why does the sentence use skal vi rather than vi skal?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule. Because the sentence begins with the question word Hvornår, the conjugated verb skal must take the second position. This pushes the subject vi immediately after the verb.
What is the core meaning of the verb styrer here?
The infinitive at styre literally means to steer or to control. While it is used for steering a car or a ship, it is also the standard verb for being in charge of, controlling, or managing an event, project, or group of people.
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