Breakdown of Syftet som drivit projektet är tydligt.
vara
to be
projektet
the project
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
tydlig
clear
driva
to run (a business)
syftet
the purpose
Questions & Answers about Syftet som drivit projektet är tydligt.
Why does the sentence say som drivit instead of som har drivit?
This is an example of dropping the auxiliary verb, known as ha-bortfall. In written or slightly formal Swedish, the verbs har (has/have) and hade (had) are often omitted in subordinate clauses. The clause som drivit projektet is a relative subordinate clause, so dropping har is completely natural here.
Would it be wrong to include har and say som har drivit?
Not at all! Saying som har drivit is perfectly correct and is actually what you will hear most often in everyday spoken Swedish. Dropping har is a stylistic choice common in writing, news, or formal speech, but both versions mean the exact same thing.
How can I tell just by looking at drivit that a har was dropped?
Drivit is the supine form of the strong verb driva (to drive/push). In Swedish, the supine form is strictly used together with har or hade to create perfect tenses. Because you cannot use a supine verb on its own as the active verb of a clause, seeing one without har or hade is your cue that the helping verb was omitted.
Why is the adjective tydligt spelled with a -t at the end instead of just tydlig?
Adjectives must agree with the noun they describe, even when separated by a long relative clause. Here, tydligt (clear) describes the subject of the sentence, syftet (the purpose). Since the base noun is an ett-word (ett syfte), the adjective must take the neuter form by adding a -t.
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