Breakdown of Hvorfor bliver hun ved med at nyse?
hun
she
at
to
blive
to stay / to become
med
with; by (bus, train) / of, to (the meaning or point of something)
hvorfor
why?
blive ved med
to keep on (doing)
nyse
to sneeze
Questions & Answers about Hvorfor bliver hun ved med at nyse?
Why is the expression blive ved med split up by the word hun in this sentence?
This happens because of Danish word order rules for questions. The question word Hvorfor takes the first position, so the verb bliver takes the second position. The subject hun must follow the verb immediately, pushing the remaining parts of the phrasal verb (ved med) later in the sentence.
Why does the sentence use at nyse (to sneeze) instead of a form like "sneezing"?
Danish does not have a direct equivalent to the English "-ing" form for this kind of ongoing action. Instead, the fixed expression blive ved med must always be followed by the infinitive marker at plus the infinitive verb. Literally, it translates closer to "Why does she continue with to sneeze?"
Is the word ved in this sentence the same as the word for "know" (as in jeg ved det)?
They look and sound exactly the same, but they are different words. In jeg ved det (I know it), ved is the present tense of the verb at vide. In this sentence, ved is a particle that belongs to the fixed phrasal verb blive ved (to continue or persist).
Could I just ask Hvorfor nyser hun hele tiden? (Why does she sneeze all the time?)
Yes, you definitely could! However, using bliver ved med at emphasizes the persistence of the action. It puts the focus on the fact that she is repeatedly doing it and just cannot seem to stop.
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