Breakdown of Hon ger kopplet till honom innan de rastar hunden.
hon
she
de
they
hunden
the dog
till
to (direction, destination)
innan
before
honom
him
ge
to give
kopplet
the leash
rasta
to walk (a pet)
Questions & Answers about Hon ger kopplet till honom innan de rastar hunden.
Why is till used here instead of åt or för?
In Swedish, till is used when there is a physical transfer of an object to a recipient, like handing over a leash. If she were taking the leash or walking the dog as a favor because he was sick or busy, you would use åt (an action done on someone's behalf).
Could we drop the preposition till in this sentence?
Yes! Just like in English, you can drop the preposition if you move the recipient right after the verb. You can say Hon ger honom kopplet (She gives him the leash).
Why use the verb rastar instead of går or promenerar?
Att rasta specifically means to take an animal out to exercise and let it do its business. You cannot say promenerar hunden, because att promenera is an action you do yourself, not something you do to someone else. Another completely natural option here would be går ut med hunden (goes out with the dog).
What happens to the word order if we add inte (not) to the second part of the sentence?
Because innan (before) starts a subordinate clause (a dependent sentence part), a sentence adverb like inte must come right before the verb. It would become innan de inte rastar hunden. This follows the famous BIFF rule, whereas in a regular main clause, inte would come after the verb.
Learn Hon ger kopplet till honom innan de rastar hunden 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