Breakdown of Byen bliver større og større.
og
and
byen
the city
blive
to stay / to become
større
bigger, larger
Questions & Answers about Byen bliver større og større.
Why is "bliver" translated as "is getting" here instead of "becomes"?
In Danish, the verb at blive is the standard way to express a change of state. While it literally means "becomes", English speakers usually say "is getting" in this context. Notice that Danish just uses the present tense bliver, as it doesn't have an equivalent to the English continuous "-ing" form.
Why does the word for big (stor) change to "større"?
Stor is an irregular adjective. To make it comparative (bigger), the vowel mutates from o to ø, and it takes the ending -re instead of the standard -ere. You will also see this vowel change in the superlative form, størst (biggest).
Is repeating the comparative word ("større og større") the normal way to say something is continually changing?
Yes! Exactly like in English (bigger and bigger), Danish repeats the comparative adjective and joins them with og (and) to emphasize that a change is ongoing or continuously increasing.
Could "byen" also mean "the city"?
Yes, en by translates to both a town and a city. Danish doesn't distinguish between the two with separate basic words. If you really need to emphasize that it is a large, major city, you can use the word en storby.