Databrillen hjelper; ikke desto mindre er mikropausen nødvendig.

to be

Breakdown of Databrillen hjelper; ikke desto mindre er mikropausen nødvendig.

• hjelpe: to help
• nødvendig: necessary
• ikke desto mindre: nevertheless

Questions & Answers about Databrillen hjelper; ikke desto mindre er mikropausen nødvendig.

What does ikke desto mindre mean, and how natural is it?

It is a fixed expression meaning nevertheless, nonetheless, or all the same.

A learner should know two things about it:

• It is perfectly correct Norwegian.
• It sounds a bit formal or written.

In everyday speech, many people would more often say likevel:

• Databrillen hjelper; likevel er mikropausen nødvendig.

So ikke desto mindre is natural, but it has a slightly more formal tone.

Why is the word order ikke desto mindre er mikropausen nødvendig instead of ikke desto mindre mikropausen er nødvendig?

This is because Norwegian main clauses normally follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must come in the second position.

Here, ikke desto mindre takes the first position in the clause. That means the verb er must come next, before the subject:

• Ikke desto mindre
  • er
    • mikropausen
      • nødvendig

If you start with the subject instead, then the normal order is:

• Mikropausen er nødvendig.

This verb-second pattern is one of the most important things to get used to in Norwegian.

Why do databrillen and mikropausen end in -en?