Breakdown of Er det ulovligt, eller er det bare en uretfærdig regel?
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
en
a / an (common)
eller
or
Questions & Answers about Er det ulovligt, eller er det bare en uretfærdig regel?
How does the prefix u- work in the words ulovligt and uretfærdig?
The prefix u- works just like 'un-', 'in-', or 'il-' in English by creating the exact opposite meaning of the base word. Here, lovlig means legal, making ulovlig mean illegal. Similarly, retfærdig means fair or just, so uretfærdig means unfair.
Why does ulovligt get a -t at the end, but uretfærdig does not?
Adding the u- prefix does not change the normal adjective agreement rules. ulovligt takes a -t because it describes the neuter pronoun det. uretfærdig takes no ending because it directly describes en regel, which is a common-gender (en) noun.
Why does the second half of the sentence also say er det instead of det er?
The conjunction eller (or) links two independent questions here. Since both parts are questions, both require inverted word order where the verb comes before the subject. So, det er becomes er det both times.
Can I use kun instead of bare to mean 'just' in this sentence?
You could, but bare sounds much more natural here. bare is often used when expressing an attitude, frustration, or downplaying something like an unfair rule. kun is usually kept for strict, factual limits meaning 'only' or 'no more than'.