Question 1

Why use på grund av here instead of därför att or eftersom?

Accepted Answer

På grund av is a compound preposition that translates to "because of" or "due to". It must be followed directly by a noun phrase, like sjukdomen (the disease) in this sentence. Words like därför att or eftersom mean "because" and require a full clause with a subject and a verb (for example, eftersom hen är sjuk - because they are sick).

Question 2

Could I use tack vare in this sentence instead?

Accepted Answer

Grammatically you could, but it would change the meaning and sound very strange! Tack vare means "thanks to" and is strictly used for positive outcomes. You would only say tack vare sjukdomen if catching the disease somehow resulted in a miracle or a great benefit. Since missing work is usually seen as a negative or neutral event, på grund av is the correct choice.

Question 3

Why is inte placed after the verb arbetar?

Accepted Answer

This is a main clause, so the standard V2 (verb-second) rule applies: the main verb (arbetar) takes the second position, and the "sentence adverb" (inte) comes right after it. You might be remembering the special rule for subordinate (dependent) clauses, where inte comes before the verb.

Question 4

How do we get the definite form forskaren from the base word?

Accepted Answer

The base word is en forskare (a researcher). For en-words that already end in the suffix -are (which usually denotes a person doing an action), you only add an -n to make it definite, rather than adding a full -en ending. So, forskare simply becomes forskaren.

Forskaren arbetar inte idag på grund av sjukdomen.

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