Breakdown of Min kollega längtar efter att pensionen ska börja, men jag vill ha ett annat alternativ.
jag
I
ett
a, an (neuter)
ha
to have
börja
to start
vilja
to want to
ska
will
men
but
annan
other / another (en-word)
min
my (min/mitt/mina)
kollegan
the colleague
att
that
längta efter
to long for
alternativet
the alternative
pensionen
the retirement
Questions & Answers about Min kollega längtar efter att pensionen ska börja, men jag vill ha ett annat alternativ.
Why do we use efter right before the att-clause?
In Swedish, the verb längtar (longs) is almost always paired with the preposition efter (for). When the thing you are longing for is an entire phrase with a subject and a verb, Swedish keeps the preposition right before att (that). So, längtar efter att literally means 'longs for that'.
Why does the Swedish sentence say ska börja instead of just an infinitive like 'to begin'?
English often uses an infinitive construction like 'longs for retirement to begin'. Swedish att-clauses usually need to act as complete mini-sentences with a subject and a conjugated verb. Here, pensionen is the subject and ska börja (will/shall begin) is the verb phrase.
Why is it vill ha instead of just vill for 'want'?
In Swedish, vill is a modal verb, which means it expects another verb to follow it, like vill sova (wants to sleep). When you want a noun, like an alternative (ett alternativ), you must add ha (to have). You are literally saying 'I want to have another alternative'.
Why does it say ett annat instead of en annan?
The word for 'another' or 'other' must agree with the gender of the noun it describes. Because alternativ is an ett-word (ett alternativ), the adjective takes the neuter form annat. If it were an en-word like väg (way), you would use en annan väg.
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