Log inSign up

Att arbeta dagligen är en större ansträngning än du tror.

Att arbeta dagligen är en större ansträngning än du tror.
To work daily is a greater effort than you think.
From Lesson 222:Infinitive clauses as subjects (att...)·Swedish

Questions & Answers about Att arbeta dagligen är en större ansträngning än du tror.

Why doesn't the verb är come right after Att arbeta to follow the V2 (verb-second) rule?
It actually does follow the V2 rule! In Swedish, the first position in a sentence isn't always a single word. Here, the entire infinitive clause Att arbeta dagligen acts as one big block forming the syntactic subject. Because that whole phrase takes up position one, the verb är correctly sits in position two.
Could I say varje dag instead of dagligen?
Yes, Att arbeta varje dag means exactly the same thing. The word dagligen is an adverb meaning daily. The -ligen suffix in Swedish works a lot like the English -ly, turning the noun dag (day) into an adverb. It sounds slightly more formal but is very common.
Why do we use tror instead of tänker for think here?
In Swedish, tror is used when you are expressing a belief, expectation, or assumption. Tänker, on the other hand, refers to the active cognitive process of using your brain to ponder or plan. Since the effort is greater than your expectation, tror is the correct choice here.
Why is it större and not mer stor?
Just like in English where we say greater instead of more great, Swedish usually adds an ending to make short adjectives comparative rather than using mer (more). The word stor is an irregular adjective: it changes its vowel and adds -re to become större (bigger or greater).

Learn Att arbeta dagligen är en större ansträngning än du tror 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
Start learning Swedish →