Breakdown of Hunden vars uppvisning är bäst får belöningen.
vara
to be
hunden
the dog
få
to get, receive
bäst
best (bra → bättre → bäst)
vars
whose
uppvisningen
the performance (show, display)
belöningen
the reward
Questions & Answers about Hunden vars uppvisning är bäst får belöningen.
Why is it uppvisning (indefinite) instead of uppvisningen (definite)?
Even though we are talking about a specific dog's performance, the word vars (whose) acts as a possessive word, just like min, din, or hans. In Swedish, a noun that directly follows a possessive word must always be in the indefinite form. Therefore, it is strictly vars uppvisning.
Does the word vars change depending on the gender or number of the dog, or the performance?
No, vars is entirely unchangeable! It does not matter if it refers back to an en-word, an ett-word, or a plural noun (like 'the dogs whose...'). It also does not matter what kind of noun comes directly after it. It is always just vars.
Is the V2 (verb-second) rule being broken here, since the verb får is the sixth word in the sentence?
Not at all! The V2 rule states that the main verb must be the second piece of information in the sentence, not necessarily the second word. The entire phrase Hunden vars uppvisning är bäst (The dog whose performance is best) acts as one single block of information: the subject. The verb får comes immediately after this entire block, placing it perfectly in the second position.
Why do we use bäst here instead of bästa?
We use bäst because it stands alone after the verb är to describe the performance. You only use the definite ending -a (bästa) when the superlative adjective is placed directly before a noun or as part of a definite phrase, such as den bästa uppvisningen (the best performance).
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