Breakdown of Projektet kræver meget arbejde, men det er umagen værd.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
men
but
meget
very; much, a lot
arbejdet
the work
projektet
the project
kræve
to demand / to require
umagen
the trouble (effort)
værd
worth
Questions & Answers about Projektet kræver meget arbejde, men det er umagen værd.
Why is there no preposition between umagen and værd?
The word værd (worth) is a special adjective that takes a bare object. This means it connects directly to a noun without needing a preposition, very much like the English phrase 'worth the trouble'. You never use a preposition like til or for here.
Why is the order umagen værd instead of værd umagen?
When the adjective værd takes a bare object, the object is placed right before the adjective. This is a fixed word order in Danish. Another very common example of this structure you will hear is det er pengene værd (it is worth the money).
What is the base form of umagen and where else might I see it?
The base noun is en umage (effort or trouble). Outside of this specific expression, you will almost exclusively see it in the very common reflexive phrase at gøre sig umage, which means 'to make an effort' or 'to do one's best'. In this sentence, it has the definite ending -n to mean 'the trouble'.
As a quick refresher, why do we use meget instead of mange before arbejde?
In Danish, arbejde (work) acts as an uncountable mass noun in this context, just as it does in English. Because it is uncountable, it requires meget (much/a lot of). You only use mange (many) for countable nouns, like mange opgaver (many tasks).
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