Breakdown of Det er fristende at shoppe på internettet, men det bliver ofte alt for dyrt for en.
være
to be
det
it (neuter)
ofte
often
at
to
Questions & Answers about Det er fristende at shoppe på internettet, men det bliver ofte alt for dyrt for en.
How does the phrase alt for dyrt work here, and why does dyrt end in a -t?
The phrase alt for means "way too" or "far too", acting as an intensifier for the adjective that follows it. Here, the adjective takes the neuter form dyrt (instead of the common-gender dyr) because it describes the dummy pronoun det, which refers to the abstract situation of shopping online.
Could I just say for dyrt instead of alt for dyrt?
Yes, but it changes the intensity. Saying for dyrt simply means "too expensive". Adding alt (literally "all") creates the phrase alt for, which emphasizes the extreme degree of the adjective, just like adding "way" or "far" in English.
Why does the sentence end with for en instead of for man?
Man is the general pronoun meaning "one" or "you" (as in "you never know"). However, man can only be used as the subject of a clause. Because it comes after the preposition for here, it acts as an object, so it must change to its object form, which is en.
Why use bliver rather than er in the second half of the sentence?
While det er ofte alt for dyrt ("it is often way too expensive") is grammatically correct, using bliver ("gets" or "becomes") highlights the process or the result. It implies that the total cost adds up over time or that you end up in a situation where you have spent way too much.