Questions & Answers about Vi måste dela resten av degen i tre bitar.
Why do we use i for "into" in i tre bitar?
When you divide, cut, or slice something into parts in Swedish, you use the preposition i. So, "divide into three pieces" is dela i tre bitar. It works the same way if you were cutting it in half: dela i två.
Why is it degen (the dough) instead of just deg?
Words expressing a specific proportion of a whole, like resten av (the rest of) or hälften av (half of), are usually followed by the definite form of the noun. Since we are talking about the remainder of a specific batch of dough, we use the definite form degen.
Since this lesson is about fractions, could we use tredjedel (a third) to say the same thing?
Yes! While this sentence focuses on creating physical pieces (tre bitar), you could also express the math behind it using fractions. If you wanted to talk about just one of those pieces, you would say en tredjedel av degen (a third of the dough).
Is resten related to taking a rest or relaxing?
No, resten is a false friend here! It comes from the noun en rest (a remainder or leftover). If you want to talk about "rest" as in relaxing, you would use the word vila. Resten av simply means "the rest of" or "the remainder of".