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Questions & Answers about Varför ljuger vittnet?
Why is the word order Varför ljuger vittnet and not Varför vittnet ljuger?
Because in Swedish, when you ask a wh-question such as why, the finite verb usually comes before the subject.
So the pattern is:
- Varför = why
- ljuger = lies / is lying
- vittnet = the witness
This is normal Swedish question word order:
- Varför ljuger vittnet? = Why is the witness lying?
Compare it with the statement:
- Vittnet ljuger. = The witness is lying.
So Swedish changes the order in questions, while English often uses do/does/is/are.
Why is it vittnet and not vittne?
Because vittnet is the definite singular form of vittne.
The noun is:
- ett vittne = a witness
- vittnet = the witness
Vittne is a neuter noun (an ett-word), so the definite singular ending is -t.
Even though the word already ends in -e, you still add -t:
- ett vittne
- vittnet
This is very common in Swedish.