Breakdown of Filmen handlar om två karaktärer som älskar varandra.
älska
to love
filmen
the film
två
two
varandra
each other
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
handla om
to be about
karaktären
the character
Questions & Answers about Filmen handlar om två karaktärer som älskar varandra.
Why do we use som here instead of vem for "who"?
While vem is used to mean "who" in a question (like "Who is that?"), som is a connecting word (a relative pronoun) that translates to "who", "which", or "that". You use som to refer back to a noun you just mentioned—in this case, the karaktärer (characters). Here, som acts directly as the subject of the phrase that follows it.
I thought handlar meant "to shop". Why is it translated as "is about" here?
On its own, handlar usually does mean "to shop" (or "to act"). However, when you pair it with the preposition om to make handlar om, it becomes a fixed phrase meaning "is about" or "deals with". You will use this phrase constantly when describing the plot of a movie, book, or story!
If the characters didn't love each other, where would the word inte (not) go?
It would go immediately before the verb! The sentence would end: ...som inte älskar varandra. In Swedish, the clause starting with som is a subclause (a dependent clause), and a major rule for subclauses is that words like inte must be placed before the verb, not after it.
Is varandra a plural word for "others"?
Not exactly. Varandra specifically means "each other" or "one another". It is used when two or more people are doing the same action to each other, just like the two characters here who love each other (älskar varandra). You don't need to change its form based on how many people are involved.
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