Breakdown of Du måste återanvända kartongen för att minska avfallet.
du
you (singular)
att
to
måste
to have to, must
för
for, to
kartongen
the cardboard box
återanvända
to reuse
minska
to reduce
avfallet
the waste
Questions & Answers about Du måste återanvända kartongen för att minska avfallet.
Why do we use för att before minska instead of just att?
för att translates directly to 'in order to'. While att minska just means 'to reduce', adding för specifically shows the purpose or reason for the action. Whenever you want to express 'in order to' in Swedish, use för att followed by the bare infinitive form of the verb.
How is the long word återanvända built?
It is a combination of the prefix åter-, which means 'again' or 're-', and the verb använda, which means 'to use'. Put them together and you get 'to reuse'. You will see åter- in many related words, like återvinna (to recycle).
Why is there no att (to) between måste and återanvända?
måste (must) is a modal helper verb. Just like in English, Swedish modal verbs are followed directly by the infinitive form of the main verb without att. You say 'must reuse', rather than 'must to reuse'.
Why do the words for 'the cardboard' and 'the waste' have different endings (kartongen vs avfallet)?
This is a good reminder of Swedish noun genders! kartong is an en-word, so it takes the -en ending to become kartongen (the cardboard). However, avfall (waste) is an ett-word, so it takes the -et ending to become avfallet (the waste).
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