Breakdown of Du borde lägga gardinen på nattduksbordet.
du
you (singular)
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
böra
should, ought to
lägga
to lay, to put down
Questions & Answers about Du borde lägga gardinen på nattduksbordet.
Why do we use lägga instead of ligga in this sentence?
Lägga means to lay or to put, and it is a transitive verb, meaning it needs a direct object. Here, you are doing the action to the curtain (gardinen). If the curtain were already resting on the table by itself, you would use the intransitive verb ligga (to lie), as in Gardinen ligger på nattduksbordet.
How do I conjugate lägga compared to ligga in the past tense?
Lägga (to lay) changes its vowel in the past tense to become la (or lade). The intransitive verb ligga (to lie) changes to låg. Mixing up la (laid) and låg (lay/was resting) is a very common trap for learners!
Why doesn't lägga have an att (to) before it?
It follows borde (should), which is a modal helper verb. In Swedish, these verbs are followed directly by the infinitive form of the main verb without att, just like in English where we say 'should lay' instead of 'should to lay'.
What are the parts that make up the word nattduksbordet?