Breakdown of Han skulle ha skämts om han hade smällt i dörren.
han
he
i
in
ha
to have
dörren
the door
om
if, whether
skulle
would
smälla
to slam
skämmas
to be ashamed
Questions & Answers about Han skulle ha skämts om han hade smällt i dörren.
Why does skämts end in an -s? Is it a passive verb?
No, it is not passive. It comes from skämmas (to be ashamed), which is a deponent verb. These are verbs that always end in -s but have an active meaning. Skämts is the supine form, which is the form you use after the word ha (to have).
How does the hypothetical structure work in skulle ha skämts om han hade smällt?
This is the Swedish past conditional, meaning "would have... if he had...". The main clause uses skulle ha plus the supine verb (skämts) for "would have been ashamed". The condition clause uses om (if) followed by the past perfect hade plus the supine verb (smällt).
Why do we need the preposition i in smällt i dörren?
In Swedish, the action of slamming a door is expressed with the phrasal verb smälla i. Saying han hade smällt dörren without the i sounds strange and incomplete to a native speaker.
Where would I put inte if I wanted to make both parts of this sentence negative?
It would become: Han skulle inte ha skämts om han inte hade smällt i dörren. In the main clause, inte goes right after the first verb (skulle). But because the om clause is a subordinate clause, the BIFF rule applies: inte must go before the first verb (hade).
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