Breakdown of Såg du guldet som han inte sålde?
du
you (singular)
han
he
inte
not
se
to see
sälja
to sell
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
guldet
the gold
Questions & Answers about Såg du guldet som han inte sålde?
Can I leave out som and just say guldet han inte sålde, like in English?
Yes, you can! When som acts as the object of the relative clause (the thing being acted upon, which in this case is the gold), you can drop it in everyday speech. However, keeping som is perfectly natural and often preferred in writing.
Why is the word order han inte sålde instead of han sålde inte?
This is a crucial rule for subordinate clauses (dependent clauses, like the one starting with som). In a normal main sentence, you put the verb before the negation, like Han sålde inte. But in a subordinate clause, inte must jump to the position right before the verb.
How do we know from this sentence that guld (gold) is an ett word?
You can tell by the definite ending of guldet (the gold). Because it ends in -et, we know the base word is ett guld. If it were an en word, the definite form would usually end in -en.
What is the base form (infinitive) of sålde?
The base form is sälja (to sell). It is an irregular verb, which is why it changes quite a bit from the present tense säljer to the past tense sålde.
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