Breakdown of Han tvättade sig med tvålen efter att ha använt rakhyveln.
han
he
tvätta
to wash
ha
to have
att
to
Questions & Answers about Han tvättade sig med tvålen efter att ha använt rakhyveln.
Why do we use efter att ha använt here?
In Swedish, to express doing something 'after doing' something else, we use efter att ha (literally: after to have) followed by the supine form of the verb (använt). This perfect infinitive structure is very common when the subject ('han') is the exact same in both halves of the sentence.
Could I say efter att han hade använt instead?
Yes, you could use a full clause: efter att han hade använt (after he had used). However, using the perfect infinitive efter att ha is usually preferred because it makes the sentence shorter and avoids repeating the subject.
Why is the word sig necessary after tvättade?
In English, you can just say 'he washed' and it is understood he washed his body. In Swedish, the verb tvätta needs a direct object. To say you wash your own body, you must use the reflexive pronoun sig. Without it, a Swede would wait to hear what he was washing, like a car or his clothes.
What makes up the word rakhyveln?
It is a compound word built from rak- (from the verb raka, meaning to shave) and the noun hyvel (a plane or shaver tool). The -n at the end puts it in the definite form, meaning 'the razor' instead of just 'a razor'.