Breakdown of Du behöver inte skämmas för ditt beteende.
du
you (singular)
inte
not
behöva
to need
för
for, to
din
your (singular; din/ditt/dina)
beteendet
the behavior
skämmas
to be ashamed
Questions & Answers about Du behöver inte skämmas för ditt beteende.
Why does skämmas end in an -s? Is it passive?
No, skämmas is what we call a deponent verb. This means it always ends in -s in all its forms, but it is completely active in meaning. You have probably seen a few others like this, such as hoppas (to hope) or minnas (to remember).
Why do we use för here instead of a word that translates directly to "of"?
Prepositions rarely match up perfectly between languages! In Swedish, the verb skämmas is strictly paired with the preposition för when you want to express being ashamed of something.
Why isn't there an att before skämmas?
The verb behöva (to need) acts as a modal auxiliary verb here. Just like kan or vill, it is followed directly by the bare infinitive without att. English does something very similar in sentences like "You need not worry."
How does the placement of inte relate to this lesson's rules for infinitive phrases?
In this sentence, inte negates the main verb behöver (you do not need to), so it follows the standard main clause rule and comes right after the conjugated verb. However, if you were using an infinitive phrase with att and wanted to negate the action itself, inte would come before the infinitive instead (for example, för att inte skämmas meaning "in order not to be ashamed").
Why is it ditt beteende rather than din beteende?
Beteende (behavior) is an ett word (ett beteende). Because of this, the possessive pronoun must take its neuter form to match, which is ditt.
Learn Du behöver inte skämmas för ditt beteende 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