Breakdown of Du löser problemet genom att läsa manualen.
du
you (singular)
läsa
to read
problemet
the problem
manualen
the manual
Questions & Answers about Du löser problemet genom att läsa manualen.
Why does Swedish use the infinitive läsa here instead of a word ending in "-ing" like English "reading"?
English uses an "-ing" word (a gerund) after prepositions, like "by reading". Swedish doesn't have an exact equivalent. Instead, after prepositions like genom (through/by), Swedish uses the marker att plus the infinitive verb. So "by reading" translates to genom att läsa.
Could I say Du löser problemet genom läsa manualen and just leave out att?
No, you must include att. When a preposition introduces an action in Swedish, it is followed by an att-infinitive phrase. Leaving out att here would sound grammatically broken to a native speaker.
Does genom att always mean "by doing something"?
Yes, when you are talking about the method used to achieve a result. Genom literally means "through", so genom att läsa manualen can be thought of as "through reading the manual" or "by reading the manual".
Why is the word for "the problem" problemet and not problemen?
The word for "problem" is an ett word (ett problem). To say "the problem" (singular), you add -et, making it problemet. If you wanted to say "the problems" (plural definite), you would use problemen.