Breakdown of Dette måltid er bedre end det sidste.
være
to be
god
good
det
the (neuter, before adjective)
sidste
last
Questions & Answers about Dette måltid er bedre end det sidste.
Where does the word bedre come from if it means better?
It is the comparative form of god (good). Just like in English, where the word good changes completely to better, Danish uses a completely different root word for the comparative form: bedre. This complete word change is called suppletion, and these irregular adjectives just need to be memorized.
Why do we use dette instead of denne for this meal?
The word for meal in Danish is et måltid, which is a neuter noun. Because of this, we must use the neuter word for this, which is dette, instead of the common gender form denne.
Is end the standard word for than when comparing things?
Yes! When you use a comparative adjective like bedre (better) to compare two things, you always use end to connect them.
Why does the sentence just end with det sidste instead of repeating the word for meal?
Just like in English where we say the last one, Danish often drops the noun if it is already clear from the context. Since måltid is a neuter word, we use the standalone neuter article det together with the definite adjective form sidste.