Breakdown of Jordskælvet vil afskære adskillige landsbyer.
ville
want to / will
landsbyen
the village
adskillige
several
jordskælvet
the earthquake
Questions & Answers about Jordskælvet vil afskære adskillige landsbyer.
Why is afskære written as one word here instead of the separable skære af?
In Danish, prefixed verbs often have two forms: an inseparable one (afskære) for figurative or abstract meanings, and a separable one (skære af) for literal, physical actions. Here, the earthquake is blocking access to the villages, which is an abstract 'cutting off.' If you used skære af, it would sound like the earthquake took a giant knife and physically sliced the villages away!
Could I split the verb and put the particle at the end, like vil skære adskillige landsbyer af?
No, because splitting it turns it into the loosely compounded (separable) verb skære af, which forces the literal meaning of slicing something with a sharp tool. Because you need the figurative meaning here, you must use the inseparable verb afskære as a single word.
What is the difference between adskillige and flere?
While both can translate to 'several,' adskillige emphasizes a noticeably larger amount, translating closer to 'quite a few' or 'a considerable number of.' It also has a slightly more formal or journalistic tone, which fits perfectly in a report about a natural disaster like jordskælvet.
Why does jordskælvet end in -et when jord is a common gender (en) noun?