Jag fryser hellre in brödet än att slänga det.

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Breakdown of Jag fryser hellre in brödet än att slänga det.

• det: it
• brödet: the bread
• slänga: to throw away

Questions & Answers about Jag fryser hellre in brödet än att slänga det.

Why is it fryser in and not just fryser?

Because frysa in is a fixed verb meaning to freeze something for storage.

• frysa on its own usually means to be cold
  • Jag fryser. = I’m cold.
• frysa in means to freeze food or other items
  • Jag fryser in brödet. = I freeze the bread / I’m freezing the bread.

So in this sentence, fryser in is not about feeling cold. It is the phrasal/separable verb frysa in.

Why are fryser and in separated?

In main clauses, Swedish often splits certain verb + particle combinations.

So:

• infinitive: att frysa in
• present tense in a main clause: jag fryser in

Compare:

• Jag ska frysa in brödet.
• Han frös in soppan.
• Vi har fryst in bären.

This works a lot like separable particle verbs in some other Germanic languages. The particle in stays later in the clause instead of attaching directly to the finite verb.

What does hellre mean here?