Breakdown of Jag var övertygad om att skämtet egentligen var en lögn.
jag
I
vara
to be
en
a, an (common)
om
about
att
that
egentligen
actually
lögnen
the lie
skämtet
the joke
övertygad
convinced
Questions & Answers about Jag var övertygad om att skämtet egentligen var en lögn.
Why is the second verb var instead of är?
This is an example of backshifting. Because the main verb in the first part of the sentence is in the past tense (var övertygad, was convinced), the verb in the att-clause (that-clause) is shifted to the past tense (var) to match it. This happens in indirect speech and thoughts, very much like in English.
Why is the word om included before att? In English we just say 'convinced that'.
In Swedish, the adjective övertygad is strongly linked to the preposition om (to be convinced of/about something). Unlike English, which usually drops prepositions before the word 'that', Swedish keeps the preposition right before the att-clause.
Why does egentligen come before the verb var here?
This follows a special word order rule for subordinate clauses (clauses that start with words like att). In these clauses, sentence adverbs like egentligen or inte must be placed before the verb. This is often taught in Swedish classes as the BIFF rule.
Could I use faktiskt instead of egentligen for 'actually' here?
You could, but they have slightly different meanings. Egentligen means 'in reality' or 'underneath it all', which perfectly fits contrasting a joke with a lie. Faktiskt is used more to express surprise or counter an expectation, like saying 'as a matter of fact'.
Learn Jag var övertygad om att skämtet egentligen var en lögn and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free