Questions & Answers about Vi mødtes helt tilfældigt i byen.
Why does the verb end in -s (mødtes) instead of just mødte?
The -s makes it a reciprocal verb, meaning the action happens to each other. While vi mødte ham means "we met him," vi mødtes means "we met each other."
Why is it helt instead of hel?
Helt is acting as an adverb meaning "completely." In Danish, you add a -t to an adjective to turn it into an adverb. Here, it modifies the following word, tilfældigt.
Why does tilfældigt end in -t here?
Even though the English translation says "by chance," tilfældigt is the adverb form of the adjective tilfældig (random or accidental). The -t ending shows it is acting as an adverb describing how the meeting happened.
Does i byen refer to a specific city?
Not necessarily. While it literally translates to "in the city," the phrase i byen is commonly used idiomatically to simply mean "out in town" or "out and about" in the local commercial center.