Breakdown of Adskillige deltagere sagde til ham at flertallet altid har ret.
sige
to say
ham
him
altid
always
til
to (preposition) / for (purpose) / at (an event or occasion) / at (good at something)
at
that
have ret
to be right
deltageren
the participant
adskillige
several
flertallet
the majority
Questions & Answers about Adskillige deltagere sagde til ham at flertallet altid har ret.
How does adskillige differ from just using mange or flere here?
While mange means "many" and flere just means "several" or "more", adskillige implies "quite a few" or "a good many." It is slightly more formal and often emphasizes that the number is noticeably large or perhaps more than you might have expected. It functions very similarly to en del (a good deal / quite a few).
Why is the word order altid har instead of har altid in the second half of the sentence?
This happens because at flertallet altid har ret is a subordinate clause (a dependent clause introduced by at). In Danish subordinate clauses, central adverbs like altid must be placed before the first verb. If this were a main, standalone sentence, it would be "Flertallet har altid ret."
Could I use fortalte ham instead of sagde til ham for "told him"?
Yes, but they carry slightly different nuances. At sige til (to say to) focuses on making a brief statement or delivering a specific message, which fits perfectly here since they are stating a simple rule. At fortælle (to tell) usually implies narrating a story or sharing more detailed, explanatory information.
Why does the sentence use har ret instead of er rigtig for "is right"?
In Danish, when a person or a group of people (like flertallet) is correct in their opinion, you must use the phrase at have ret (literally "to have right"). You only use at være rigtig (to be right/correct) when talking about a thing or a fact, such as a correct answer on a test.
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