Breakdown of Egentligen låtsas de bara att de är vänner.
vara
to be
de
they
vännen
the friend
bara
only, just
att
that
egentligen
actually
låtsas
to pretend
Questions & Answers about Egentligen låtsas de bara att de är vänner.
Why does the verb låtsas come before the subject de?
Låtsas ends in an -s. Is it a passive verb?
No, låtsas is a deponent verb. This means it always ends in -s but has an active meaning (to pretend). Other common deponent verbs you have likely seen by now are hoppas (to hope), andas (to breathe), and minnas (to remember).
Since this lesson is about som om (as if), could we say låtsas som om here?
You can, but it is slightly repetitive. The verb låtsas (to pretend) already sets up an unreal scenario, so it usually just links with att (that) followed by a normal clause: att de är vänner. If you want to use som om (as if), it sounds more natural with a verb like to act or to look: De ser ut som om de vore vänner (They look as if they were friends).
I sometimes confuse egentligen with English words. Does it mean eventually?
No, that is a classic false friend! Egentligen means actually, really, or in reality (often used to reveal the truth behind a situation, just like in this sentence). If you want to say eventually in Swedish, you would instead use till slut or så småningom.
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