Word
Att misslyckas borde inte störa dig.
Meaning
To fail should not bother you.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Att misslyckas borde inte störa dig.
"Att" and "misslyckas" are two words. Doesn't putting both before the verb "borde" break the V2 (verb-second) rule?
No, because the V2 rule is about positions in the sentence, not individual words. The entire infinitive phrase Att misslyckas (To fail) acts as the subject of the sentence. It fills that entire first position as a single block, allowing the conjugated verb borde to stay perfectly in the second position.
Why does the verb misslyckas end in an -s? Is it passive?
It is not passive. Misslyckas is a "deponent" verb. These are verbs that always end in -s but have a completely active meaning. Other common examples you might remember from earlier lessons are hoppas (to hope) and minnas (to remember).
Why does inte come between the two verbs here (borde inte störa) instead of before them?
In a Swedish main clause, the rule is that the sentence adverb (like inte) must come immediately after the first conjugated verb. Since borde is the conjugated auxiliary verb, inte has to follow it, pushing the second verb (störa, which is in its infinitive form) further back in the sentence.
Borde looks like a past tense verb because of the -de ending. Is it?