Word
Kun blåhvalen spiser mere end elefanten.
Meaning
Only the blue whale eats more than the elephant.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Kun blåhvalen spiser mere end elefanten.
spise
to eat
mere
more / anymore (with a negative)
end
than
elefanten
the elephant
Questions & Answers about Kun blåhvalen spiser mere end elefanten.
Why doesn't the verb come directly after kun? Doesn't Danish have a verb-second rule?
It does! The verb-second (V2) rule is still working perfectly here. The focus adverb kun (only) attaches directly to the noun to form a single subject block: kun blåhvalen (only the blue whale). Because that entire block takes up position one, the verb spiser correctly sits in position two.
What happens if we move kun after the verb?
The meaning completely changes. If you say blåhvalen spiser kun mere end elefanten, the focus adverb kun now applies to the action. It would mean the blue whale only eats more than the elephant (and doesn't do anything else). Focus adverbs must sit directly next to the word or phrase they are highlighting.
Why is it blåhvalen and elefanten (the blue whale / the elephant) instead of plural forms?
Just like in English, Danish often uses the singular definite form of an animal to talk about the entire species as a general concept. You could also use the plural indefinite (kun blåhvaler spiser mere end elefanter), but the singular definite sounds very natural for biological facts.
Is end always used for 'than' in comparisons?
Yes! Whenever you are comparing two things using a comparative word like mere (more), mindre (less), or større (bigger), you must use end to mean 'than'.