Breakdown of Vi flyttar borden så att gästerna kan prata med varandra.
vi
we
prata
to speak
bordet
the table
kunna
to be able to, can
gästen
the guest
med
with
varandra
each other
flytta
to move
så att
so that
Questions & Answers about Vi flyttar borden så att gästerna kan prata med varandra.
What is the difference between using så att and just så here?
Så att means "so that" or "in order to" and shows the specific purpose behind moving the tables. It always introduces a subordinate clause. If you just used så, it would mean "so" in the sense of "therefore" and would start a brand new main clause instead.
If we wanted to say "so that the guests cannot talk", where would inte go?
It would go right before kan: ...så att gästerna inte kan prata... Because så att introduces a subordinate clause, Swedish word order requires sentence adverbs like inte to come before the first verb. This is often remembered by learners as the BIFF rule (Bisyts Inleder, Före Finita verbet).
Could I use rör instead of flyttar to mean "move" the tables?
No, rör means "move" in the sense of making a motion (like moving your arm) or touching something. When you are relocating an object from one physical place to another, or changing your own living address, you must use flyttar.
Why is "the tables" translated as borden rather than having an extra plural ending like -ar or -er?
The word for table is ett bord. For ett-words that end in a consonant, the indefinite plural is exactly the same as the singular (for example, två bord means "two tables"). To make it definite plural ("the tables"), you just add the suffix -en to that base word, giving you borden.
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