Breakdown of Vi vet att ni förlovade er igår.
vi
we
ni
you (plural, subject)
veta
to know (facts, information)
igår
yesterday
att
that
förlova sig
to get engaged
Questions & Answers about Vi vet att ni förlovade er igår.
Why do we use att in this sentence?
Att means "that" and connects the main clause (Vi vet) to the indirect statement (ni förlovade er igår). Just like in English, it bridges the gap between what you know and the fact itself.
Why is it förlovade er instead of förlovade sig?
The verb for "to get engaged" is att förlova sig, which is a reflexive verb. Since the subject of the indirect statement is ni (you, plural), the reflexive pronoun must shift to match it. The reflexive pronoun for ni is er.
Does indirect speech change the verb tense in Swedish?
Not automatically! You just use the tense that makes logical sense. Here, the knowing is happening right now (present tense vet), but the engagement happened in the past (past tense förlovade), so we simply mix the two tenses.
Since ni can sometimes be a formal singular "you", could this be talking to one person?
In modern Swedish, ni is almost always the plural "you" (like "you guys"). Plus, since getting engaged usually involves two people, ni here is definitely referring to a plural "you"!
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