Jeg bliver nervøs, hvis cykelkæden hopper af på vejen.

I get nervous if the bicycle chain comes off on the road.

Breakdown of Jeg bliver nervøs, hvis cykelkæden hopper af på vejen.

• jeg: I
• på: on
• blive: to become
• hvis: if
• vejen: the road
• nervøs: nervous
• cykelkæden: the bicycle chain
• hoppe af: to come off

Questions & Answers about Jeg bliver nervøs, hvis cykelkæden hopper af på vejen.

Why does Danish use jeg bliver nervøs instead of jeg er nervøs?

At være (jeg er nervøs) describes a state you are in (you’re nervous already).
At blive (jeg bliver nervøs) means to become / get (you move into that state). In this sentence it’s about the reaction that happens if the condition occurs.

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What does hvis do here, and how is it different from når?

Hvis introduces a condition (something that may or may not happen): if …
Når is typically used for something expected/regular or viewed as certain in the future: when …
So hvis cykelkæden hopper af frames it as a possibility, not a sure event.

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Why is there a comma before hvis?

In Danish it’s standard to put a comma between a main clause and a subordinate clause:

• Main clause: Jeg bliver nervøs
• Subordinate clause: hvis cykelkæden hopper af på vejen

So the comma marks the boundary before the hvis-clause.

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Why is the verb order normal after hvis—cykelkæden hopper—and not inverted?

Because hvis introduces a subordinate clause, and Danish subordinate clauses keep the basic Subject–Verb order:

• hvis cykelkæden hopper … (subject cykelkæden
  • verb hopper)

Inversion (verb before subject) happens in main clauses after something is fronted, not inside hvis-clauses.

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What exactly is cykelkæden, and why does it end with -en?

cykelkæden is a compound noun:

• cykel = bicycle
• kæde = chain

kæde is common gender (en kæde), and -en is the definite ending, so:

• en cykelkæde = a bicycle chain
• cykelkæden = the bicycle chain

Danish often expresses the by adding a suffix instead of a separate word.

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What does hopper af mean, and why is af separated from the verb?

hopper af is a common verb + particle combination (like an English phrasal verb). It means the chain jumps/slips off.

The verb is hopper and the particle is af. In Danish, these particles often appear after the verb:

• kæden hopper af Not: kæden afhopper (that’s not how it’s formed).

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Why is hopper in the present tense—doesn’t this refer to the future?

Danish commonly uses the present tense for future or hypothetical situations when the context makes it clear. In conditional clauses with hvis, present tense is normal:

• hvis … hopper … = if it jumps off (at some time)

You don’t need a special future form here.

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Why is it nervøs and not something like nervøse?

Because the adjective agrees with what it describes. Here it describes jeg (a single person), so you use the basic form:

• jeg bliver nervøs

nervøse is used for plural or definite contexts, for example:

• De bliver nervøse (They get nervous)
• den nervøse mand (the nervous man)

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What does på vejen mean here, and when would you use i vejen instead?

på vejen means on the road / on the way (location or during the trip).
i vejen usually means in the way / blocking.

So på vejen fits with something happening while you’re riding/travelling, not something obstructing.

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How would the word order change if the hvis-clause came first?

Then Danish requires inversion in the main clause (verb before subject):

• Hvis cykelkæden hopper af på vejen, bliver jeg nervøs.

So the verb bliver moves before jeg because the sentence starts with something other than the subject.