Breakdown of Min bror rydder ofte op, men han gør det nødigt.
han
he
det
it (neuter)
min
my
broren
the brother
ofte
often
men
but
gøre
to do / to make (cause to be)
rydde op
to tidy up
nødig
reluctantly (would rather not)
Questions & Answers about Min bror rydder ofte op, men han gør det nødigt.
What exactly is gør det substituting for in this sentence?
Here, gør det replaces the entire verb phrase rydder op. Danish heavily relies on gøre det (to do it) as a clausal substitute to avoid repeating the verb. Notice that while English often just uses the auxiliary verb on its own (but he does), Danish requires both gør and the object det.
Could I omit det and just say men han gør nødigt, similar to English?
No, you cannot drop det. When using gøre as a substitute verb for an action, it strictly requires a direct object to refer back to that earlier action. Leaving the object implied works in English, but omitting det makes the sentence ungrammatical in Danish.
Why does the adverb ofte come between rydder and op?
In a main clause, central adverbs like ofte must be placed immediately after the conjugated verb. Because at rydde op is a separable phrasal verb, the main verb rydder takes the second position, and the particle op gets pushed to the end of the phrase, creating the structure rydder ofte op.
How does the word nødigt function here?
It functions as an adverb meaning reluctantly or unwillingly, describing the manner in which he cleans up. As a B2 learner, you might also recognize it from the very common phrase jeg vil nødigt (I would rather not), which is a polite way to express hesitation or decline an offer.
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