Breakdown of Igår var politikern trött efter debatten.
vara
to be
trött
tired
igår
yesterday
efter
after
debatten
the debate
politikern
the politician
Questions & Answers about Igår var politikern trött efter debatten.
Why is the verb var before the subject politikern?
Because Swedish uses the V2 rule, which means the verb is always the second piece of information in a main clause. Since the sentence starts with the time word Igår (yesterday), the verb var (was) has to come next, pushing the subject politikern to the third spot.
How does the word politiker become politikern (the politician)?
Politiker is an en-word. Normally, you add -en to the end of an en-word to mean 'the' (just like debatt becomes debatten). However, for nouns ending in -er, you only add an -n to avoid a clunky double 'e'. So, politiker becomes politikern.
Why is the adjective trött (tired) in its basic form here?
Adjectives must match the noun they describe. Because politikern is a singular en-word, the adjective takes its basic form, trött. If the sentence were about multiple politicians, you would add an 'a' for the plural form: trötta.
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