Breakdown of På grund av bristen på kapital kan vi inte bota sjukdomen.
vi
we
inte
not
kunna
to be able to, can
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
kapitalet
the capital (finance)
på grund av
because of
bristen
the shortage
sjukdomen
the disease
bota
to cure
Questions & Answers about På grund av bristen på kapital kan vi inte bota sjukdomen.
Why do we use på grund av here instead of eftersom or därför att?
På grund av is a compound preposition meaning "because of" or "due to", and it is followed by a noun phrase like bristen på kapital. Words like eftersom and därför att mean "because", but they are conjunctions. This means they must be followed by a full clause with a subject and a verb (like "because we lack capital").
Why is the word order kan vi inte instead of vi kan inte?
This is the Swedish V2 (verb-second) rule in action! The entire phrase På grund av bristen på kapital counts as the first block of the sentence. Therefore, the verb (kan) must come next to stay in the second position, pushing the subject (vi) to the third position.
Why is the phrase bristen på kapital? Does brist always take the preposition på?
Yes, the noun brist (lack or shortage) usually pairs with the preposition på when specifying what is missing. The set expression is brist på något (lack of something). Here it is used in the definite form: bristen på (the lack of).
How is the word sjukdomen formed?
The word sjukdom is made by combining the adjective sjuk (sick) with the noun suffix -dom, which creates nouns describing a state or condition (similar to "-ness" or "-dom" in English). Adding the definite ending gives us sjukdomen (the disease).
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