Breakdown of Varför är han så besatt av pengar?
vara
to be
han
he
varför
why
pengarna
the money
så
so
besatt av
obsessed with
Questions & Answers about Varför är han så besatt av pengar?
Why do we use av here instead of a literal translation for "with"?
In Swedish, the adjective besatt (obsessed) always pairs with the preposition av. Because prepositions rarely translate one-to-one between languages, you have to memorize these combinations as set phrases. Think of besatt av as a single chunk meaning "obsessed with".
Where does the word besatt come from?
It acts as an adjective here, but it is actually a participle (a verb form used as an adjective) from the verb att besätta, which means "to occupy" or "to possess". Literally, the sentence is saying he is "possessed by" money. This makes it easier to remember why it takes the preposition av (by/of).
Is the word order here just like English?
It looks similar to English, but Swedish is strictly following its V2 (verb-second) rule. The question word Varför takes up the first position, so the verb är must come immediately after it in position two, followed by the subject han.
Why is it just pengar and not the definite form pengarna?
When talking about an uncountable or general amount of something, Swedish often uses the indefinite form just like English does. He is obsessed with money as a general concept (pengar), not a specific pile of cash you were both just talking about (pengarna).
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