Breakdown of Vi gillar att umgås eftersom vi älskar varandras skratt.
vi
we
älska
to love
att
to
eftersom
since, because
Questions & Answers about Vi gillar att umgås eftersom vi älskar varandras skratt.
How does the word varandras work here, and does it change if the noun after it is plural?
Varandras means "each other's". It is formed by simply adding the possessive -s ending to the reciprocal pronoun varandra (each other). Because it acts like a name or noun in the genitive case, it never changes its form, regardless of whether the noun it owns is an en-word, an ett-word, or plural.
Why is it just skratt and not skrattet after varandras?
In Swedish, whenever a noun follows a possessive word ending in -s (like varandras, a person's name, or a specific noun like lärarens), the following noun must be in its bare, indefinite form. That is why we use skratt without the definite -et ending, even though it refers to their specific laughter.
Why does the verb umgås end in an -s? Is it passive?
No, it is not passive here. Umgås (to socialize or spend time together) is a reciprocal verb, meaning it describes an action people do together or to each other. The base infinitive form of this verb naturally ends in -s, which is why it keeps the -s after the infinitive marker att.
Eftersom starts a subordinate clause. Why doesn't the word order seem any different than a normal sentence?