Certain proportional conjunctions, as jo, vary in accordance with the character of the sentence; thus, in a simple statement of comparative proportion, jo must be followed by jo, while in a compound sentence, jo must be followed by desto or des; as, jo oftere, jo bedre, 'the oftener the better;' Jo oftere han så hende, og lagde Mærke til hendes store Elskværdighed, desto mere agtede han hende, 'The oftener he saw her, and observed her great amiability the more he esteemed her.'
In statements of comparison, for which the word end, 'than,' is used, the predicate verb need not be repeated; as, Min Broder er större end jeg, 'My brother is taller than I (am).' The same rule applies to som, 'as,' and to ligesom, 'as,' 'like;' as, Min Broder er så stor som jeg, 'My brother is as big as I (am);' Min Broder er Jurist ligesom jeg, 'My brother is a lawyer, as I am.'
Composition of Words.
Composition and decomposition exercise a great influence on the character of words, and admit of being very largely employed in Dano-Norwegian. Thus verbs may be compounded with several different parts of speech; as, at korsfæste, 'to crucify' (fasten on a cross); at fuldstændiggöre, 'to (make) complete;' at istandsætte, 'to repair' (put into order); at påtage, 'to assume.'
In many such cases the verb admits of being decomposed without losing its meaning, as at sætte i Stand, or at istandsætte. Often, however, the verb changes its meaning; as, at oversætte, 'to translate;' at sætte over, 'to put over,' 'to put across' (a stream, &c.)