Breakdown of Efter att ha använt schampot lämnade hon badrummet.
hon
she
ha
to have
att
to
efter
after
använda
to use
lämna
to leave
badrummet
the bathroom
schampot
the shampoo
Questions & Answers about Efter att ha använt schampot lämnade hon badrummet.
How does the phrase efter att ha använt work here?
This is the perfect infinitive, which is the focus of this lesson. Because the subject (she) is the exact same for both actions, we can use efter att (after) followed by ha and the supine form använt (used). This shows that the shampooing was fully completed before she left the bathroom.
Why is the verb lämnade placed before the subject hon?
This happens because of the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule. The entire introductory phrase Efter att ha använt schampot counts as the first block of information. Because it takes up the first slot, the verb lämnade must immediately follow it in the second slot, pushing the subject hon to the third spot.
Could I rewrite this sentence using normal past tense verbs instead of ha använt?
Yes! If you prefer not to use the infinitive structure, you can use a full subordinate clause with a subject. It would be: Efter att hon hade använt schampot lämnade hon badrummet. Both versions are perfectly natural in Swedish, but the version with ha is a bit more concise.
What is the base form of the word schampot?
The base form is ett schampo. Because it is an ett word ending in a vowel, we simply add a -t to the end to make it definite, meaning 'the shampoo'. You can also see how the English loanword has been adapted to standard Swedish spelling.
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