Breakdown of Arbejdet med bikuben er farligere end som så.
være
to be
farlig
dangerous
så
then, so
arbejdet
the work
med
with; by (bus, train) / of, to (the meaning or point of something)
end
than
som
as (in comparisons)
bikuben
the beehive
Questions & Answers about Arbejdet med bikuben er farligere end som så.
What do the individual words in end som så literally mean?
Literally, it translates to "than as so". The word som acts as a conjunction meaning "as" or "like", and så means "so" or "that". Together, this elliptical phrase acts as a fixed idiom used after a comparative adjective like farligere to mean "than one might think" or "than it looks."
Why do we use the ending -ere for farligere instead of saying mere farlig?
In Danish, adjectives ending in -lig usually form their comparative by adding the suffix -ere (giving us farligere). You generally reserve mere (more) for longer, more complex adjectives or those ending in suffixes like -sk (for example, mere fantastisk).
How is the word bikuben constructed, and why does it take the -en ending while arbejdet takes -et?
Bikuben is a compound noun made of en bi (a bee) and en kube (a hive). Since the final root word determines a compound's gender, it takes the common gender definite ending -en. Arbejde is a neuter noun, so it takes the neuter definite ending -t.
Could I replace end som så with just end det ser ud til?
Yes, end det ser ud til (than it looks or appears) is a perfectly valid alternative. However, end som så is a highly natural, snappy idiom that native speakers frequently use to convey that exact same underlying meaning in fewer words.
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