Breakdown of Da Mars er længere væk, er den langt koldere.
være
to be
den
it (common)
kold
cold
væk
away (gone)
da
since (because)
Mars
Mars
langt
far; by far, much (before comparatives)
længere
longer; any longer (with a negative)
Questions & Answers about Da Mars er længere væk, er den langt koldere.
Why use langt before koldere instead of just saying meget koldere?
Both langt and meget can be used as degree modifiers for comparative adjectives in Danish. While meget koldere means much colder, langt koldere translates to far colder or way colder. Using langt often gives a slightly stronger emphasis to the size of the difference.
Could I use endnu here instead of langt, like endnu koldere?
You could, but it changes the meaning! While langt koldere means far colder, endnu koldere means even colder. You would use endnu if you were comparing Mars to another planet that is already cold, pointing out that Mars is colder still.
længere usually means longer, so why does it translate to farther in this sentence?
The standard Danish phrase for far away is langt væk. To say farther away, you use the comparative form of langt, which happens to be længere. So Danes literally say longer away (længere væk) to mean farther away.
Why does the second part of the sentence say er den (is it) instead of den er (it is)?
This is a classic example of the verb-second (V2) rule. The entire first part of the sentence (Da Mars er længere væk) is a subordinate clause that takes up the first position of the main sentence. To keep the main verb in the second position, the verb (er) and the subject (den) have to swap places.
I've learned that da means when or then in the past tense. Why does it mean since here?
The word da is very flexible! While it is often used for a specific time in the past (when), it is also commonly used as a conjunction meaning since or because to explain the reason for something, exactly like how since works in English.
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