Word
Den lydiga hunden som ägaren tvättar skäller inte.
Meaning
The obedient dog that the owner is washing does not bark.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Den lydiga hunden som ägaren tvättar skäller inte.
hunden
the dog
tvätta
to wash
inte
not
den
the (with en-words)
Questions & Answers about Den lydiga hunden som ägaren tvättar skäller inte.
Why does this sentence use som instead of vars (whose)?
Vars is used when there is a possessive relationship (whose). Here, we are simply saying 'the dog that the owner is washing', so we use som. If we wanted to use the lesson's target word, it would be something like: Hunden vars ägare tvättar den skäller inte (The dog whose owner washes it does not bark).
Why is it Den lydiga hunden? Doesn't Den already make it definite?
This is a great refresher for the Swedish 'double definite' rule. When you add an adjective to a definite noun, you need three pieces: the freestanding article (Den), the adjective's definite -a ending (lydiga), and the noun's definite suffix (hunden).
Why are there two verbs right next to each other (tvättar skäller)?
This happens because of the strict V2 (verb-second) rule! The main clause's verb must be in the second position. The entire descriptive phrase Den lydiga hunden som ägaren tvättar acts as one giant subject block (position 1). Therefore, the main verb skäller has to immediately follow it to take position 2.
Is som the subject or the object in the clause som ägaren tvättar?