Breakdown of Jeg ved ikke hvordan jeg skal forholde mig til det.
jeg
I
det
it (neuter)
ikke
not
skulle
to have to / must / to be going to
Questions & Answers about Jeg ved ikke hvordan jeg skal forholde mig til det.
Why does the sentence say hvordan jeg skal forholde instead of an infinitive like "how to deal"?
In English, you can use a question word followed by an infinitive ("how to deal"), but Danish generally requires a full subordinate clause. You literally have to say "how I should deal" (hvordan jeg skal forholde).
What exactly does the reflexive verb forholde sig til mean here?
At forholde sig til is a very common Danish expression that means "to relate to", "to take a stance on", or "to deal with" a situation. It is used when you are trying to figure out your mental, practical, or emotional reaction to something.
Why is the word order hvordan jeg skal instead of hvordan skal jeg?
The phrase hvordan jeg skal forholde mig til det is a subordinate clause acting as the object of the main verb (ved ikke). In Danish subordinate clauses, the subject comes before the verb (straight word order), so it remains jeg skal. You would only invert to skal jeg if it were a direct, standalone question.
Why do we need the word mig in this sentence?
Because the verb phrase at forholde sig is inherently reflexive, meaning the action reflects back on the subject. The pronoun must match the subject. Since the subject is jeg, you use the reflexive pronoun mig. If the subject were "he", it would be han skal forholde sig.