Questions & Answers about Eftersom han är sjuk, är chefen förstående.
Why doesn't förstående change its ending to match chefen?
Förstående is a present participle functioning as an adjective. A great thing about these adjectives ending in -ande or -ende is that they are invariable. They never change form, no matter if the noun is an en-word, an ett-word, or plural!
Why does förstående end in -ende instead of -ande?
Swedish verbs that end in a stressed vowel, like förstå, form their present participle by adding -ende. Verbs that end in an unstressed -a, like prata, take -ande instead to become pratande.
Why does the main sentence say är chefen instead of chefen är?
This is the Swedish V2 rule in action! The entire first part of the sentence, Eftersom han är sjuk, counts as the first block of information. Therefore, the main verb är must be the second block, forcing the subject chefen to come right after it.
Could I use därför att instead of eftersom at the beginning of the sentence?
No, därför att cannot start a sentence in Swedish. When you want to say since or because at the very beginning of a sentence, you must always use eftersom.