Breakdown of Vi borde hjälpa de äldre.
vi
we
hjälpa
to help
de
the (plural, before adjective)
böra
should, ought to
äldre
elderly
Questions & Answers about Vi borde hjälpa de äldre.
Why is it de äldre instead of de äldre människorna?
In Swedish, you can often turn an adjective into a noun just by using the definite article (de, den, or det) and dropping the actual noun. Here, de äldre stands on its own to mean "the elderly" or "the older people". This is known as substantivation.
Why doesn't äldre get a plural ending like -a after de?
Normally, an adjective after de gets an -a ending. However, äldre is a comparative adjective (the comparative form of gammal). In Swedish, comparative adjectives never change their form to match gender or number. They always keep their -are or -re endings.
Why do we use the comparative äldre (older) instead of gamla (old)?
Literally, de äldre means "the older [people]". Just like in English where "older people" or "the elderly" sounds softer, Swedish prefers de äldre over de gamla (the old ones) as a more polite and respectful way to refer to senior citizens.
Why is there no att (to) before hjälpa?
Borde (ought to / should) is a modal verb. When you use a modal verb, the main verb that follows is always in its bare infinitive form (hjälpa) and you must completely leave out the infinitive marker att (to).
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