Breakdown of Påstod han att han hade glömt grälet?
han
he
ha
to have
glömma
to forget
att
that
påstå
to claim
grälet
the argument
Questions & Answers about Påstod han att han hade glömt grälet?
How does the pronoun change here compared to his original words?
In direct speech, his original claim was probably jag har glömt grälet (I have forgotten the argument). Because we are reporting what he said using indirect speech, the pronoun shifts from jag to han to match the original speaker.
Why does the sentence use hade glömt (had forgotten) instead of har glömt (have forgotten)?
This is a tense shift. Because the reporting verb at the beginning of the sentence is in the past tense (påstod), the verb in the indirect speech must also take a step back in time. His original words likely used the present perfect (har glömt), which shifts to the past perfect (hade glömt) when reported in the past.
Why is the verb påstod at the very beginning of the sentence?
In Swedish, yes/no questions always start with the verb. This means you do not need a helping word like the English word did. You simply put the main verb first to turn the statement into a question.
What is the infinitive (base) form of the verb påstod?
The base form is påstå (to claim or assert). You might recognize the second half of the word, stå (to stand). It follows the exact same irregular pattern, so the past tense is påstod, just like the past tense of stå is stod.
Grälet means the argument, but is this an en-word or an ett-word?
It is an ett-word: ett gräl (an argument). Because it ends in a consonant, you add -et to the end to make it definite, giving you grälet (the argument).
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