Questions & Answers about Chefen ställer in mötet idag.
What exactly does ställer in mean here, and what is its literal meaning?
In this sentence, ställer in means “cancels”.
Literally:
- ställa = to put, to place, to set
- in = in, inside
So ställa in originally meant something like “to put/adjust in”, and in some contexts it still has that sense (for example, ställa in TV:n = “tune/set the TV”).
But as a particle verb, ställa in has the idiomatic meaning “to cancel”, especially with events or plans:
- De ställde in konserten. = They cancelled the concert.
- Vi måste ställa in resan. = We have to cancel the trip.
Is ställer in one verb or two separate words?
Grammatically it’s treated as one verb, a particle verb, even though it’s written as two words.
- ställa = main verb
- in = verbal particle
Together they form a fixed unit ställa in = “to cancel”.
Characteristics:
- In main clauses, the particle usually comes right after the verb:
Chefen ställer in mötet. - In infinitive form, the att goes before the verb, but the particle stays after:
att ställa in mötet = to cancel the meeting
(not att in ställa)
So you should memorize ställa in as if it were a single verb: “to cancel”.
Why is it Chefen and not Chef for “the boss”?