Breakdown of Vi meddelade kunderna om strömavbrottet.
vi
we
om
about
kunden
the customer
strömavbrottet
the power outage
meddela
to announce
Questions & Answers about Vi meddelade kunderna om strömavbrottet.
How would I change this sentence to say "We had to notify the customers" to practice this lesson's grammar?
You would add the past obligation phrase and change the main verb to its infinitive form (meddela). Because the subject vi (we) is plural, you must remember to use the plural adjective form tvungna instead of tvungen. The full sentence becomes: Vi var tvungna att meddela kunderna om strömavbrottet.
Why do we use om after the customers?
The verb meddela (to notify or inform) naturally pairs with the preposition om (about) when you are stating what the message is regarding. The standard pattern is meddela någon om något (notify someone about something).
How is the word strömavbrottet built?
It is a compound noun made of two parts: ström (electricity or current) and avbrottet (the interruption, from the "ett" word ett avbrott). When joined together, it literally means "the power interruption." Notice that the definite suffix -et is added to the very end of the compound to make it "the" power outage.
Could I use informerade instead of meddelade here?
Yes, Vi informerade kunderna om strömavbrottet works perfectly and means essentially the same thing. Meddelade (from att meddela) is just slightly more specific to sending out a distinct notice or a message, whereas informera is a broader term for providing information.
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