Breakdown of Hon måste bestämma sig före mötet.
hon
she
mötet
the meeting
bestämma
to decide
före
before
måste
have to
sig
himself
Questions & Answers about Hon måste bestämma sig före mötet.
What does måste mean here?
Måste is a modal verb meaning must or have to. In this sentence, it expresses necessity or obligation: she is required to make a decision before the meeting.
Why is there no att before bestämma?
After modal verbs like måste, Swedish normally uses the bare infinitive, without att. So måste bestämma works like English must decide, not must to decide.
Why is it bestämma sig instead of just bestämma?
Bestämma sig is the usual Swedish expression for decide or make up one’s mind. Without sig, bestämma usually means something more like decide something, determine, or set. So here the reflexive form is the natural one.
What exactly does sig mean?
Sig is the reflexive pronoun for the third person in Swedish. It is used when the object refers back to the subject. So in Hon måste bestämma sig, sig means herself, but Swedish uses sig instead of a gender-specific form.
Why isn’t it henne instead of sig?
Because the person doing the action and the person affected by it are the same person. Swedish uses sig for third-person reflexive meaning, not henne or honom. If you said henne, it would usually mean a different female person, not the subject herself.
Why is it före mötet? Could I also say innan mötet?
Yes, innan mötet is also possible. Före and innan can both mean before, but före often sounds a bit more formal or written, while innan is very common in everyday speech. Both are natural here.
Why is it mötet and not ett möte?
Mötet is the definite form, meaning the meeting. Swedish usually adds definiteness as a suffix to the noun: ett möte = a meeting, mötet = the meeting. The sentence assumes a specific meeting is already known from the context.
Can the word order change?
Yes. The sentence as written has the basic order subject + verb + infinitive + other parts: Hon måste bestämma sig före mötet. But you can also move the time phrase to the front: Före mötet måste hon bestämma sig. Notice that the finite verb måste still stays in second position, which is a very important Swedish word-order rule.
Is måste present tense? How would I say this in the past?
Yes, måste is the present-tense form used here. Depending on context, it can mean present or future obligation, just like English must. For past obligation, Swedish often uses var tvungen att: Hon var tvungen att bestämma sig före mötet.
How would I make this sentence negative?
You usually put inte after the finite verb: Hon måste inte bestämma sig före mötet. But be careful: this often means She must not decide before the meeting rather than She doesn’t have to decide. If you mean doesn’t have to, Swedish more naturally uses behöver inte: Hon behöver inte bestämma sig före mötet.
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