Breakdown of Vilken bra idé att cykla till jobbet för att skydda miljön!
cykla
to cycle
bra
good / well
att
to (before a verb)
till
to (direction, destination)
jobbet
the work
vilken
which / what a (en-word)
idén
the idea
för
for, to
skydda
to protect
miljön
the environment
Questions & Answers about Vilken bra idé att cykla till jobbet för att skydda miljön!
Why do we use för att skydda instead of just att skydda?
För att translates to 'in order to' or 'for the purpose of'. If you just said att skydda, it would mean 'to protect', but it wouldn't clearly show the reason for cycling. Whenever you want to express the purpose behind an action, use för att followed by the infinitive (basic) form of the verb.
Doesn't vilken usually mean 'which'? Why is it translated as 'What a' here?
Yes, vilken is the question word for 'which'. However, in Swedish, it is also used in exclamations to mean 'What a...!'. So Vilken bra idé! means 'What a good idea!'. Notice that you don't translate the English word 'a' here; vilken covers the whole phrase.
There are two att's in this sentence (att cykla and för att skydda). Do they do the same thing?
Not quite! The first one, att cykla, is just the standard way to link the idea to the verb, meaning 'to cycle'. The second one is part of the fixed phrase för att, which specifically means 'in order to'. While both are followed by verbs in their infinitive form, för att specifically adds the meaning of a goal or purpose.
Why is it till jobbet (to the work) when in English we just say 'to work'?
Swedish often uses the definite form (the 'the' form) for everyday locations where English leaves it out. For places you go to as part of a daily routine, like jobbet (work) or skolan (school), Swedish usually adds the definite suffix.
What is the base word for miljön, and why does it end in -n?
The base word is en miljö (an environment). Because it is an en-word that already ends in a vowel, you just add an -n to the end to make it definite, creating miljön (the environment).
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