Word
Rutschebanen er tre gange så skræmmende som karrusellen.
Meaning
The roller coaster is three times as scary as the carousel.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Rutschebanen er tre gange så skræmmende som karrusellen.
være
to be
tre
three
så
then, so
som
as (in comparisons)
Questions & Answers about Rutschebanen er tre gange så skræmmende som karrusellen.
How exactly does the 'three times as... as' structure work in Danish here?
It uses the exact same word order as English! You take the number of times (tre gange), add så (as), the adjective (skræmmende), and finally som (as). The formula is always [number] gange så [adjective] som.
Why doesn't the adjective skræmmende change its ending?
Because skræmmende is a present participle, which is a verb form ending in -ende (similar to '-ing' words in English, like 'frightening'). When these words are used as adjectives, they never add an -e or -t ending, no matter what noun they describe.
Why does karrusellen have a double 'l' when the dictionary form is karrusel?
Danish has a spelling rule for keeping vowels short. Because the final 'e' in karrusel is short and stressed, you must double the final consonant before adding the definite ending -en. If you didn't double the 'l', the 'e' would be pronounced as a long vowel.
Is Rutschebanen a compound word?
Yes! It is made of the verb at rutsche (to slide) and the noun en bane (a track or course). Together, rutschebane literally means a 'slide track'. Here, it has the definite -en ending, making it 'the roller coaster'.