Breakdown of Om bonden håller på att skörda, stör honom inte.
inte
not
honom
him
om
if, whether
störa
to disturb
hålla på att
to be doing (progressive)
bonden
the farmer
skörda
to harvest
Questions & Answers about Om bonden håller på att skörda, stör honom inte.
Why does the second part of the sentence start with the verb stör?
This shows the V2 (verb-second) rule! The entire 'if' clause (Om bonden håller på att skörda) counts as the first piece of information in the sentence. Because of this, the main clause must start with its verb, stör, to keep the verb in the second position overall. This applies even when the main clause is an imperative command.
How does håller på att skörda mean 'is harvesting'?
Swedish does not have a direct equivalent to the English '-ing' ending. To show that someone is in the middle of doing something right now, Swedish uses the phrase håller på att followed by an infinitive verb. Here, it means the farmer is currently in the process of harvesting.
Why is the verb stör used instead of störa?
stör is the imperative form, which you use when giving a direct command or instruction. The infinitive of the verb is störa (to disturb). To make the imperative command form for this type of verb, you simply drop the final -a.
Why does inte come after honom? Could I say stör inte honom?
You can say both! However, when the object is a short pronoun like honom (him), it is extremely common in Swedish to place inte after the pronoun. If you say stör inte honom, it places slightly more stress on the fact that you shouldn't disturb him specifically.
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