Breakdown of ”Är ni båda allvarliga?” ”Ja, det är vi verkligen.”
vara
to be
det
it (neuter)
vi
we
ni
you (plural, subject)
ja
yes
båda
both (pronoun, e.g. both of them)
allvarlig
serious
verkligen
really
Questions & Answers about ”Är ni båda allvarliga?” ”Ja, det är vi verkligen.”
Why does the answer say det är vi instead of just vi är?
In Swedish, you can't leave a short answer hanging with just a verb like you do in English ("Yes, we are"). You have to include det to stand in for the rest of the sentence. It literally translates to "Yes, that are we" — meaning "Yes, we are the thing you just asked about".
Why is the word order det är vi and not det vi är?
This is the V2 (verb-second) rule in action! Because the placeholder det takes the first spot in the clause after the comma, the verb (är) must come second. That pushes the subject (vi) to the third spot.
Can I put verkligen before the verb, like in the English "we really are"?
No, Swedish keeps a strict V2 word order in main clauses. After the placeholder det, the verb är must come next. Adverbs like verkligen (really) usually go after both the verb and the subject, which places it at the very end here: det är vi verkligen.
Why does allvarliga have an -a at the end?
Adjectives in Swedish change to match the noun or pronoun they describe. Because the speaker is addressing ni (the plural "you", as confirmed by the word båda), the adjective allvarlig gets the plural -a ending.
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