Breakdown of Han tar tabletten innan han rakar sig.
han
he
innan
before
ta
to take
raka sig
to shave oneself
tabletten
the pill
Questions & Answers about Han tar tabletten innan han rakar sig.
Why do we use sig here instead of just saying han rakar?
In Swedish, shaving is considered a reflexive action. You have to specify who is being shaved. If you just say han rakar, a Swedish speaker will wait to hear who or what he is shaving. Sig is the reflexive pronoun for han, hon, den, det, and de, showing that he is performing the action on himself.
Could I use honom instead of sig?
No, because honom means him as in another male person. Han rakar honom would mean He shaves him (for example, a barber shaving a customer). Because the subject (he) and the object (him) are the exact same person, you must use the reflexive pronoun sig.
What is the difference between innan and före? They both mean before.
Innan is a conjunction, meaning it connects two full clauses that both have a subject and a verb. Here, it introduces the full phrase han rakar sig. Före is a preposition, which is usually just followed by a noun or pronoun, like in the phrase före frukost (before breakfast).
Why is it tabletten and not tablettet?
The base word is en tablett (a pill or tablet). Because it is an en-word, the definite form (the pill) adds -en to the end, making it tabletten. Do not let the double t at the end of the root word trick you into thinking it is an ett-word!
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