Breakdown of Det ser ud som om det er et selvmord, men beviset kan være falskt.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
et
a / an (neuter)
kunne
to be able to / can
men
but
falsk
false / fake
beviset
the proof
se ud
to look (appear)
som om
as if
selvmordet
the suicide
Questions & Answers about Det ser ud som om det er et selvmord, men beviset kan være falskt.
Why is kan være translated as "might be" instead of "can be"?
In this sentence, kan is used to express a possibility or deduction, rather than an ability. This is very common in Danish. Just like "might" or "could" in English, kan here shows the speaker thinks it is entirely possible that the evidence is fake.
How does the phrase ser ud som om break down?
Ser ud comes from the phrasal verb at se ud, meaning "to look" or "to appear". Som om translates directly to "as if". Put together, det ser ud som om is the standard way to say "it looks like" or "it looks as if" in Danish.
Why does the word falskt have a -t at the end?
It describes beviset (the evidence). Because et bevis is a neuter noun (a t-word), the adjective falsk (fake) must take the neuter -t ending to agree with it, becoming falskt.
Why is det used twice at the beginning of the sentence?
The first det is a "dummy subject", just like the "it" in the English "it looks as if". The second det is the actual subject of the following clause, pointing to the specific event being investigated: "it is a suicide".
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