Breakdown of Vet du var jag kan hitta ett bra gym i staden?
jag
I
du
you
i
in
ett
a
kunna
can
staden
the city
bra
good
veta
to know
var
where
hitta
to find
gymmet
the gym
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Swedish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Vet du var jag kan hitta ett bra gym i staden?
What does the sentence "Vet du var jag kan hitta ett bra gym i staden?" mean in English?
It means "Do you know where I can find a good gym in the city?" The sentence asks if the listener has knowledge about the location of a good gym within the city.
Why is there no inversion (subject-verb inversion) in the clause "var jag kan hitta ett bra gym i staden" even though it is a question word?
In Swedish, when a question is embedded within another sentence—an indirect question—the subordinate clause maintains the regular word order (subject before verb). In a direct question, you would say "Var kan jag hitta ett bra gym?" with inversion, but after "Vet du" the structure remains "var jag kan hitta" without inversion.
What does the word "var" signify in this sentence?
The word "var" means "where" in English. It introduces the embedded question regarding the location where one might find a good gym.
Why is the indefinite article "ett" used before "bra gym"?
In Swedish, nouns are gendered. The noun "gym" is neuter, so it takes the indefinite article "ett" rather than "en". Thus, "ett bra gym" translates to "a good gym".
What does the phrase "i staden" add to the meaning of the sentence?
The phrase "i staden" means "in the city." It specifies that the search for a good gym is limited to the particular city in context, rather than in another area or town.