Breakdown of Han arbetar hårt för samhället.
han
he
för
for, to
hård
hard
arbeta
to work (more formal than jobba)
Questions & Answers about Han arbetar hårt för samhället.
Why do we use för in this sentence instead of åt or till?
In this context, för is used because he is working in the interest of or for the benefit of society. You use till for a physical recipient (handing something to someone) and åt when performing a task on someone else's behalf. Since he isn't doing society's chores for it, but rather working for its overall benefit, för is the correct choice.
Why is the word hard spelled as hårt with a T at the end?
Because it is an adverb describing how he works. In Swedish, you create an adverb by taking the adjective (hård) and adding a -t to the end (hårt). If you were describing a hard noun, you would use hård for en-words and hårt for ett-words, but when describing an action, it always takes the -t ending.
Why is samhället in the definite form when English often just says "works hard for society"?
Swedish frequently uses the definite form for general concepts, institutions, or abstract ideas like society, nature, or time. While English often drops the word "the" when speaking broadly about society, Swedish keeps the definite suffix -et at the end of samhället.