Questions & Answers about Varför skrattar du så mycket?
Why is the word order Varför skrattar du and not Varför du skrattar?
Because Swedish main-clause questions follow the V2 rule: the finite verb usually comes in the second position.
- Varför = question word
- skrattar = finite verb
- du = subject
So in a direct question, Swedish says:
- Varför skrattar du så mycket?
Not:
- Varför du skrattar så mycket? → this sounds like a subordinate clause, not a normal direct question.
Compare:
- Jag undrar varför du skrattar så mycket. = I wonder why you laugh/are laughing so much.
So:
- direct question → Varför skrattar du ... ?
- embedded clause → varför du skrattar ...
What form is skrattar?
Skrattar is the present tense of the verb skratta, which means to laugh.
A few useful forms:
- att skratta = to laugh
- skrattar = laugh / am laughing / are laughing / is laughing
- skrattade = laughed
- har skrattat = have/has laughed
So in this sentence, skrattar means laugh or are laughing, depending on context.