Breakdown of Flickan gömde sig darrande bakom soffan.
flickan
the girl
soffan
the sofa
sig
oneself / himself / herself / themselves
bakom
behind
gömma
to hide
darra
to tremble
Questions & Answers about Flickan gömde sig darrande bakom soffan.
How do we know to use the -ande ending for darrande?
Darrande comes from the verb darra (to tremble). Since darra is a regular verb that ends in -a in its infinitive form, we create the present participle by adding -nde. Verbs that end in other vowels usually take -ende instead.
Does darrande change if the subject is plural, like if it were Flickorna?
No, present participles like darrande never change their spelling to agree with the subject's gender or number. They are completely unchangeable, whether they act as adjectives or as adverbs of manner like they do in this sentence.
Why is it gömde sig instead of just gömde?
In English, you can just say that someone hid, but in Swedish, the verb gömma (to hide) needs a direct object. If you are hiding yourself, you must use a reflexive pronoun. Therefore, the phrase becomes Flickan gömde sig (literally: The girl hid herself).
Why does darrande come right after gömde sig rather than at the end of the sentence?
This sentence follows the typical Swedish word order rule for placing adverbs, often remembered as Manner-Place-Time. The manner (how she hid: darrande) comes first, followed by the place (where she hid: bakom soffan).
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