Breakdown of Jag håller på att skriva brevet, men jag kan inte fokusera.
jag
I
inte
not
brevet
the letter
skriva
to write
kunna
to be able to, can
men
but
hålla på att
to be doing (progressive)
fokusera
to focus
Questions & Answers about Jag håller på att skriva brevet, men jag kan inte fokusera.
Why use håller på att skriva instead of just skriver?
While jag skriver can mean both "I write" and "I am writing", adding håller på att emphasizes that you are actively in the middle of the action right now. It is the most common way to translate the English "am doing [something]" when you want to highlight that it is currently ongoing.
Is att required before skriva, and how is it pronounced?
Yes, the grammar rule for this progressive structure requires att plus the infinitive verb. However, in spoken Swedish, att is almost always shortened and pronounced just like the letter "å". So you will normally hear natives say "håller på å skriva".
Why isn't there an att before fokusera in the second half of the sentence?
The verb fokusera follows kan (can), which is a modal verb. Just like in English where we say "I can focus" instead of "I can to focus", Swedish drops the infinitive marker att after modal verbs.
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