Breakdown of De var så utmattade i måndags att båda svimmade.
vara
to be
de
they
måndag
Monday
så
so
att
that
båda
both (pronoun, e.g. both of them)
i
last (in past time expressions)
svimma
to faint
utmattad
exhausted
Questions & Answers about De var så utmattade i måndags att båda svimmade.
Why is i måndags placed between så utmattade and att?
In English, you might put the time at the very end of the sentence. But in Swedish, i måndags belongs to the main clause ('They were exhausted last Monday'). When you use the så ... att (so ... that) structure, any extra information belonging to the main clause is tucked in before the att.
Why is the adjective utmattade used here instead of utmattad?
Because it must agree with the plural subject De (they). Utmattad (exhausted) is a past participle, which is a verb acting as an adjective. When a word ending in -ad becomes plural, it takes the ending -ade.
Why does i måndags mean 'last Monday' instead of just 'on Monday'?
The specific pattern of i + [day of the week] + -s always refers to the most recently passed day. If you wanted to talk about a future Monday, you would use på måndag instead.
Is it also correct to say båda två instead of just båda?
Yes! Båda and båda två both mean 'both' and are usually interchangeable. Adding två just makes it slightly more conversational and emphasizes that there are exactly two of them, but båda works perfectly on its own.
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