Breakdown of Ställ stolarna i rätt rad så att alla hittar sin sittplats.
hitta
to find
i
in
stolen
the chair
alla
all
rätt
right
sin
his/her/its/their own (en-word)
ställa
to put
så att
so that
raden
the row
sittplatsen
the seat
Questions & Answers about Ställ stolarna i rätt rad så att alla hittar sin sittplats.
How does så att work in this sentence?
The phrase så att means 'so that' and is used to introduce a subordinate clause that shows the result or purpose of an action. Because it starts a subordinate clause, remember the 'BIFF' rule: if you want to use a sentence adverb like inte (not) or alltid (always), it must go before the verb. For example: så att alla inte går vilse (so that everyone doesn't get lost).
Why is it sin sittplats instead of sina sittplatser or deras sittplats?
Alla (everyone) is the subject here. Because they are finding their own seats, we must use a reflexive possessive pronoun (sin, sitt, or sina) rather than deras, which would mean they are looking for someone else's seats. We use the singular en-word sin because each person is finding one seat (en sittplats). If you used sina, it would imply each individual person is looking for multiple seats!
Why use ställ to say 'put' instead of lägg or sätt?
Swedish positional verbs are very literal about how an object rests. Ställa means to stand something up on its base or legs. Because chairs have legs and stand upright on the floor, you must use ställ. You would use lägga for laying things down flat, and sätta for seating people or placing things that attach firmly.
Why is it i rätt rad (indefinite) when the English translation says 'in the correct row'?
The adjectives rätt (right/correct) and fel (wrong) behave a bit specially in Swedish. They are very frequently paired with nouns in the indefinite form without any article, even when referring to a specific, definite thing in English. So i rätt rad is the most natural and standard way to say 'in the correct row'.
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