Breakdown of Det regner meget, men han skal stadig spille tennis.
han
he
det
it (neuter)
spille
to play
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
Questions & Answers about Det regner meget, men han skal stadig spille tennis.
Why is there no article with tennis in the phrase spille tennis?
This is an example of semantic noun incorporation, which is common with institutionalized or routine activities like playing sports. Instead of treating tennis as a specific, standalone object, Danish pairs it closely with the verb to describe a unified activity. Because of this, the noun is used as a bare singular, meaning it takes no article at all.
The English translation says "is still going to play," so why does the Danish sentence use skal instead of vil?
While vil often expresses personal volition or desire, skal is used for future actions that are planned, scheduled, or agreed upon. Playing a sport usually involves a booked court or an arrangement with a partner, making skal the most natural modal verb to express this fixed plan.
Why is the adverb stadig placed between skal and spille?
Because the clause after men is an independent main clause, it follows standard main clause word order. In Danish, sentence adverbs like stadig must be placed immediately after the finite (conjugated) verb, which is skal here, and before the infinitive verb spille.
Does the conjunction men affect the word order of the clause that follows it?