Breakdown of Offret ger oss evig makt, vad de än må tro.
de
they
vad
what
tro
to believe
oss
us
ge
to give
makten
the power
än
ever (concessive particle)
må
may (concessive auxiliary)
evig
eternal
offret
the sacrifice (ritual, victim)
Questions & Answers about Offret ger oss evig makt, vad de än må tro.
How does the word må function in the phrase vad de än må tro?
The framework vad ... än means 'whatever'. Adding the concessive auxiliary må creates the meaning 'whatever they may believe'. It emphasizes that the main clause remains true regardless of their beliefs, adding a slightly dramatic or formal tone to the sentence.
I usually see som in these phrases, like vad som än händer. Why is there no som here?
You only add som when the question word (vad, vem, etc.) acts as the subject of the clause. In vad som än händer ('whatever happens'), 'whatever' is the subject. In our sentence, de (they) is the subject doing the believing, and vad is the object, so som is left out.
Does offret always translate to 'the sacrifice'?
No, ett offer can mean 'a sacrifice' (in a ritual or when giving something up), but it is also the standard Swedish word for 'a victim' (of a crime or accident). Here, the context of gaining evig makt ('eternal power') makes 'the sacrifice' the obvious translation.
Why is the adjective written as evig instead of evigt?
Because makt (power) is an en-word (en makt), the adjective takes the base form evig. If it were describing an ett-word like liv (life), it would take the t-ending to become evigt liv ('eternal life').
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