Breakdown of En olycka skedde, så trafiken stannade.
en
a, an (common)
så
so
ske
to happen (formal, to occur)
stanna
to stop (moving)
olyckan
the accident
trafiken
the traffic
Questions & Answers about En olycka skedde, så trafiken stannade.
Why doesn't the verb come immediately after så? Doesn't Swedish usually use the V2 (verb-second) rule?
Så (so) is a coordinating conjunction here. This means it joins two independent clauses (complete sentences) together. Words like så, och (and), and men (but) act as a bridge and don't count as the first position in the sentence. Because of this, the second part starts fresh with the subject (trafiken) in position 1, followed by the verb (stannade) in position 2.
I usually use hände for "happened". What is the difference between hände and skedde?
They mean exactly the same thing and are often interchangeable. However, skedde (from the verb att ske) is slightly more formal than hände (from att hända). You will frequently see skedde used in news reports, police statements, or formal writing, like when describing an accident.
What is the base (infinitive) form of skedde?
The infinitive is att ske (to happen/occur). Because it is a short verb that ends in a stressed vowel, it gets -dde added to the end to form the past tense, making it skedde.
Why is it trafiken (the traffic) instead of just trafik, like we usually say in English?
While English usually drops "the" when talking about traffic as a general concept ("traffic stopped"), Swedish prefers the definite form trafiken here because it refers to the specific traffic at the scene of the accident.
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