Breakdown of Lögreglan heimtar að maðurinn svari.
maðurinn
the man
svara
to answer
að
that (conjunction)
lögreglan
the police
heimta
to demand (insist)
Questions & Answers about Lögreglan heimtar að maðurinn svari.
Why is svari used here instead of the regular present tense svarar?
Because the main verb heimtar (demands) expresses a strong will or demand directed at a different subject (maðurinn). This triggers the subjunctive of volition in the að clause, requiring the present subjunctive svari.
How do we form the present subjunctive svari?
For most verbs ending in -a in the infinitive like svara, the present subjunctive is formed by changing that -a to an -i. The third-person singular form (matching maðurinn) takes this base -i ending, resulting in svari.
Why does Lögreglan take the singular verb heimtar when 'the police' takes a plural verb in English?
If the sentence were in the past tense ('The police demanded...'), how would the subjunctive verb change?
The main verb would become the past tense heimtaði. To match this past tense, the verb in the að clause must shift to the past subjunctive. Since svara is a weak verb, its past subjunctive is svaraði, making the clause að maðurinn svaraði.
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