Learn Danish: Jeg havde villet deltage, men jeg orkede simpelthen ikke. - I had wanted to participate, but I simply didn't have the energy to.

This is the past perfect tense using a modal verb. It uses the past tense auxiliary havde (had), followed by the past participle of the modal verb ville (villet), and finally the bare infinitive of the main verb (deltage).

What exactly does the verb "orkede" mean here?

At orke is a very common Danish verb meaning to have the energy to, to manage to, or to be bothered to do something. In the past tense here, jeg orkede simpelthen ikke translates naturally as I simply didn't have the energy or I just couldn't be bothered.

Why are there two adverbs, "simpelthen" and "ikke", right after the verb?

The conjunction men (but) connects two main clauses. In a main clause, central adverbs like simpelthen (simply) and ikke (not) must come after the conjugated verb (orkede). When you have multiple adverbs like this, they stack together in that position.

Why is there no verb after "ikke" at the end of the sentence?

Just like in English, Danish allows you to drop the main verb if it is obvious from the context. Instead of repeating the action by saying jeg orkede simpelthen ikke at deltage, the sentence leaves it implied to sound more natural.