Word
Efter att ha lagt rakhyveln bredvid handfatet torkade han sig med handduken.
Meaning
After putting the razor next to the sink, he dried himself with the towel.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Efter att ha lagt rakhyveln bredvid handfatet torkade han sig med handduken.
han
he
ha
to have
att
to
sig
oneself / himself / herself / themselves
Questions & Answers about Efter att ha lagt rakhyveln bredvid handfatet torkade han sig med handduken.
Why do we use att ha lagt here instead of a regular past tense verb like lade?
This is the perfect infinitive (att ha + the supine form lagt). When you want to say 'after doing [something]' in Swedish, you use efter att ha followed by the supine verb. It shows that putting down the razor was completely finished before he started drying himself.
Why is the word order torkade han instead of han torkade?
This is because of the Swedish V2 rule, which says the verb must be in the second position in a main clause. The entire long phrase at the start (Efter att ha lagt rakhyveln bredvid handfatet) counts as position number one. So, the verb torkade comes next, pushing the subject han to the other side.
Why do we need the word sig after torkade han?
torka sig is a reflexive verb meaning 'to dry oneself'. If you just said han torkade med handduken, it would sound incomplete, as if he were wiping a surface but you forgot to mention what it was. The sig shows he is drying his own body.
How do I know whether to use lagt or legat here?