Breakdown of De äldre är rädda på grund av inbrottet.
vara
to be
de
the (plural, before adjective)
på grund av
because of
rädd
afraid, scared
Questions & Answers about De äldre är rädda på grund av inbrottet.
Since äldre is an adjective meaning 'older', how does de äldre work as a noun here?
You have just spotted substantivation in action! Äldre is the comparative form of gammal (old). In Swedish, you can often take an adjective, put the plural article de (the) in front of it, and treat the whole phrase as a noun to describe a group of people. So de äldre simply becomes 'the elderly'.
Why is the adjective rädda in the plural form here?
Even though de äldre acts as a noun phrase in this sentence, it still refers to multiple people. Because Swedish requires adjectives to agree with the subject they describe, the word rädd (afraid) must take its plural ending -a to become rädda.
Could I use eftersom or därför att instead of på grund av?
Not in this sentence. På grund av is a fixed prepositional phrase meaning 'because of' or 'due to', and it must be placed directly before a noun (like inbrottet). Words like eftersom and därför att mean 'because', but they must be followed by a full clause containing a subject and a verb, such as eftersom det var ett inbrott.
Is the word inbrott (burglary) related to brott (crime)?