Word
Om du skyndar dig, hinner vi precis med tåget.
Meaning
If you hurry, we will catch the train just in time.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about Om du skyndar dig, hinner vi precis med tåget.
Why is it skyndar dig and not skyndar du?
Because skynda sig is a reflexive verb in Swedish: you “hurry yourself.” The reflexive pronoun agrees with the subject.
- jag skyndar mig
- du skyndar dig
- han/hon skyndar sig
- vi skyndar oss
- ni skyndar er
- de skyndar sig
Note: Skynda dig! is the imperative. In your sentence, it’s the present indicative inside an if-clause: Om du skyndar dig …
Why is hinner in the present tense even though the meaning is about the future?
Swedish often uses the present to talk about future results in time/conditional clauses. Here, “If you hurry now, we will (just) make the train” is expressed with present forms: skyndar … hinner. You could use a future auxiliary (kommer att) but it’s not needed.
Why is it hinner vi (verb before subject) after the comma?
Swedish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb is in second position. When you start the sentence with a subordinate clause (Om du skyndar dig), that whole clause counts as the first element, so the verb of the main clause must come next, before the subject: … hinner vi …. If you put the main clause first, you get normal subject–verb order: Vi hinner precis med tåget om du skyndar dig.
What does hinna (med) mean, and how do I use it?