Breakdown of Företaget borde stödja fonden i stället för att bygga ett nytt kontor.
ett
a, an (neuter)
att
to
ny
new
kontoret
the office
företaget
the company
bygga
to build
böra
should, ought to
stödja
to support (financially, politically)
fonden
the fund
i stället för
instead of
Questions & Answers about Företaget borde stödja fonden i stället för att bygga ett nytt kontor.
Why is it i stället för att bygga and not an '-ing' word like in the English translation?
English uses the '-ing' form after prepositions (like 'instead of building'). Swedish doesn't do this. When a verb directly follows a compound preposition like i stället för, you use the infinitive marker att plus the infinitive verb (bygga).
Is it okay to spell the preposition together as istället för?
You will often see it written as istället för in everyday texts, and it is widely accepted. However, writing it as three separate words (i stället för) is the traditionally recommended and most formally correct spelling.
Why do we use borde here, and why isn't there an att before stödja?
Borde is technically the past tense of böra (ought to), but Swedish uses it just like English uses 'should' to give a present or future recommendation. Because it acts as a modal verb here, the following verb (stödja) must be in the infinitive form without att.
Why is there a -t at the end of nytt?
The word for office is an ett word (ett kontor). When you describe an indefinite ett word, the adjective must match it by taking a -t at the end. Therefore, ny (new) becomes nytt.
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