Breakdown of Vi sågade brädan själva igår.
vi
we
igår
yesterday
såga
to saw
brädan
the board
själva
ourselves / yourselves / themselves (emphatic)
Questions & Answers about Vi sågade brädan själva igår.
Why do we use själva here instead of själv?
The emphatic pronoun själv (oneself) works like an adjective and has to match the subject it refers to. Because the subject here is vi (we), which is plural, we must use the plural form själva. If the sentence were about a single person, like "I sawed the board myself," it would be Jag sågade brädan själv.
Could we put själva right after vi, like in English "We ourselves sawed..."?
In Swedish, emphatic pronouns like själva usually go after the object (brädan) in a standard sentence. You generally wouldn't say Vi själva sågade... in everyday speech. The typical word order is Subject + Verb + Object + själv/själva + Time/Place.
What is the base form of brädan (the board)?
The base form is en bräda (a board). Since it is an en-word that already ends in a vowel (-a), you only need to add an -n to make it definite ("the board"), giving you brädan.
Is sågade a regular verb?
Yes! The infinitive is att såga (to saw). It belongs to Group 1, which is the most common and regular group of verbs in Swedish. To form the past tense for Group 1 verbs, you just add -de directly to the infinitive, making it sågade.
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