Breakdown of Han skulle fixa punkteringen i garaget igår.
han
he
i
in
igår
yesterday
garaget
the garage
fixa
to fix
skulle
would
punkteringen
the flat tire
Questions & Answers about Han skulle fixa punkteringen i garaget igår.
Why do we use skulle fixa here instead of just the past tense fixade?
Using skulle followed by the bare infinitive fixa is how you express the future in the past in Swedish. It translates to 'was going to fix'. If we just said Han fixade..., it would mean he actually fixed it. Using skulle fixa strongly implies it was his intention, but he probably didn't get around to it.
Since this sentence is about yesterday (igår), why isn't the main verb in the past tense too?
Because skulle is an auxiliary verb, it forces the next verb to be in its bare infinitive form. Since skulle is already in the past tense (it is the past form of ska), the main verb fixa stays in its basic dictionary form.
What exactly is a punktering?
It literally translates to 'puncture'. In Swedish, this is the standard word used for a flat tire on a bicycle or a car. The -en ending makes it a definite noun, giving us punkteringen (the flat tire).
Could I put igår at the beginning of the sentence instead?
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