Breakdown of Konstnären låter oss tolka konstverket.
oss
us
låta
to let, allow
konstnären
the artist
tolka
to interpret
konstverket
the artwork
Questions & Answers about Konstnären låter oss tolka konstverket.
Why isn't there an att (to) before the verb tolka?
Just like in English, the verb låta (to let) takes a bare infinitive. You wouldn't say "the artist lets us TO interpret" in English, and in Swedish you also drop the att. You simply use the object oss followed directly by the infinitive tolka.
Doesn't låter usually mean "sounds"?
Yes, låta is a very common verb that means "to sound" (as in det låter bra - that sounds good). However, it also means "to let" or "to allow." You can tell them apart by the context: the "let" meaning is almost always followed by a noun or pronoun (like oss) and another verb.
Why does konstnären end in -n while konstverket ends in -t?
This is because they have different grammatical genders. Konstnär is an en word, making its definite form ("the artist") konstnären. But konstverk is an ett word. In compound words like konstverk, the final word determines the gender. Since verk is an ett word, the definite form becomes konstverket.
Are konstnären and konstverket related words?
Yes! The root word here is konst, which means "art." En konstnär is an artist, and ett konstverk is literally an "art-work" (a piece of art).
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