Breakdown of Barnet är mycket beroende av sin familj.
vara
to be
barnet
the child
familjen
the family
mycket
much / very
Questions & Answers about Barnet är mycket beroende av sin familj.
Why doesn't beroende get a -t ending since barnet is an ett-word?
Beroende (dependent) is a present participle acting as an adjective. In Swedish, adjectives ending in -ande or -ende are invariable. This means they never change their endings to match the noun's gender or number. Whether describing an en-word, an ett-word, or plural nouns, it always stays exactly as beroende.
The English translation says "dependent on", but doesn't av usually mean "of" or "by"?
Yes, it does! Prepositions rarely translate perfectly between languages. In Swedish, the adjective beroende almost always pairs with the preposition av. It is best to memorize them together as a set phrase: beroende av (dependent on).
Why use sin instead of just saying dess (its)?
Sin is a reflexive possessive pronoun that refers back to the subject of the sentence, which is Barnet (The child) here. It tells us the child is dependent on its own family. If you used dess (its) instead, it would sound like the child is dependent on some other thing's family. We use sin rather than sitt or sina because familj is a singular en-word.
A quick refresher: how do we know means "the child" and not "the children"?