Breakdown of Vandrerhjemmet er støjende, men om ikke andet er det billigt.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
billig
cheap
men
but
vandrerhjemmet
the hostel
støjende
noisy
om ikke andet
if nothing else
Questions & Answers about Vandrerhjemmet er støjende, men om ikke andet er det billigt.
How exactly does the phrase om ikke andet affect the word order in the second half of the sentence?
The phrase om ikke andet acts as a single adverbial chunk taking up the first position in the clause right after the conjunction men. Because Danish enforces the V2 (verb-second) rule, the verb er must immediately follow this chunk, which pushes the subject det into the third position: ... om ikke andet er det ...
Could I put om ikke andet at the very end of the sentence instead?
Yes, you can. You could say ... men det er billigt, om ikke andet. Notice that if you move it to the end, the subject det reclaims the first position after men, so there is no inversion. Placing the chunk at the front, as in the main example, simply places stronger argumentative emphasis on the concession.
Støjende ends in -ende. Is it being used as a verb or an adjective here?
It is the present participle of the verb at støje (to make a noise), but it is functioning purely as an adjective here (noisy). Just like in English, Danish frequently uses these -ende forms as adjectives. The great thing about them is that they are invariable—they never add a -t or an -e for gender or plurality, which is why it doesn't change to match the neuter noun vandrerhjemmet.
What are the component parts of the word vandrerhjemmet?
It is a compound noun made from vandrer (wanderer or hiker) and hjem (home), capped off with the neuter definite suffix -met. It literally translates to "the wanderer home" and is the standard Danish word for a hostel or youth hostel.
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