Breakdown of Vi hittade inga brutna avtal i arkivet.
vi
we
hitta
to find
i
in
inga
no (plural)
avtalet
the agreement
arkivet
the archive
bryta
to break
Questions & Answers about Vi hittade inga brutna avtal i arkivet.
Why is it brutna instead of bruten or brutet?
The word brutna is the past participle of the Group 4 (strong) verb bryta (to break). For Group 4 verbs, the past participle endings are -en for en-words, -et for ett-words, and -na for plurals. Because it describes the plural noun avtal, we must use the plural ending -na, giving us brutna.
Is there a vowel change when forming the past participle of bryta?
Yes! As a Group 4 strong verb, bryta changes its root vowel in different tenses. The infinitive has a y, the past tense has an ö (bröt), and the past participle has a u (bruten/brutet/brutna). Learning these vowel change patterns, like y-ö-u, makes strong verbs much easier to predict.
The translation says 'agreements', but avtal doesn't look plural. How can we tell?
avtal is an ett word that ends in a consonant (ett avtal). Words in this specific category do not change their form in the indefinite plural, so one agreement is ett avtal and multiple agreements are flera avtal. We know it is plural in this sentence because it is modified by the plural words inga (no) and brutna (broken).
Why use inga here instead of inte?
In Swedish, when 'no' is used directly with a noun (like 'no broken agreements'), you must use ingen, inget, or inga depending on the gender and number of the noun. Because avtal is plural here, we use the plural form inga. You would generally only use inte (not) to negate an entire clause or verb.
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