Breakdown of De måste tänka innan de diskuterar teorin.
de
they
måste
to have to, must
innan
before
tänka
to think (reflect)
teorin
the theory
diskutera
to discuss
Questions & Answers about De måste tänka innan de diskuterar teorin.
Why is tänka used here for "think" instead of tycka or tro?
Tänka is used for the active process of using your brain to ponder or consider something. If you wanted to express a personal opinion, you would use tycka, and if you were guessing or believing something without knowing for sure, you would use tro.
Why is it tänka instead of the present tense tänker?
Because it comes right after måste (must). Måste is a helper verb, and just like in English, it is followed by the basic dictionary form (infinitive) of the main verb. So we use the infinitive tänka rather than the present tense tänker.
Could I use före instead of innan to say "before" in this sentence?
No, you need to use innan here. Innan is a connecting word used when you are introducing a full phrase that has its own subject and verb (here, de diskuterar). You use före when "before" is followed directly by a noun, like före mötet (before the meeting).
How does the word teorin get its "the" ending?
The base word is en teori (a theory). Because it is an "en" word that already ends in a vowel, you only need to add an -n to the end to make it definite (the theory). This gives us teorin.
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