Breakdown of Däremot måste de som förlorar också underhålla oss.
också
also
måste
to have to, must
oss
us
förlora
to lose
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
däremot
on the other hand
de
those (who)
underhålla
to entertain
Questions & Answers about Däremot måste de som förlorar också underhålla oss.
Why do we need de in de som förlorar? Can't we just use som?
In Swedish, you can't use som (who/that) to start a noun phrase all by itself. You need a pronoun like de (they/those) for it to attach to. Together, de som translates to 'those who' or 'the ones who'.
Should it be de som or dem som here?
It has to be de som. The entire phrase de som förlorar (those who lose) is doing the action in the main sentence—they are the ones who must entertain. Because this phrase acts as the subject, we use the subject pronoun de. You would use dem som if the phrase were the object receiving the action.
Why is the verb måste placed before the subject de som förlorar?
Why does också come so late in the sentence?
Också is a sentence adverb. In a main clause, sentence adverbs are placed after the first verb and the subject. Here, the subject isn't just one word, but the entire phrase de som förlorar. Också has to wait until that whole phrase is finished before it can take its spot before the second verb (underhålla).
The word underhålla looks like 'under-hold'. Is that right?
Exactly! It is built from under (under) and hålla (to hold or keep). While it means 'to entertain' in this sentence, it can also mean 'to maintain' (like maintaining a building or a machine).
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