Breakdown of Han meddelade att de inte var tvungna att slänga mjölet.
han
he
de
they
inte
not
att
that
mjölet
the flour
vara tvungen att
to have to
slänga
to throw away (casual, to toss)
meddela
to announce
Questions & Answers about Han meddelade att de inte var tvungna att slänga mjölet.
Why is it var tvungna and not var tvungen?
The phrase vara tvungen att acts like an adjective describing the subject. Since the subject of this clause is de (they), which is plural, tvungen must take the plural form tvungna. If the subject was singular, like han, it would be var tvungen.
Why is inte placed before the verb var?
The phrase att de inte var tvungna... is a subordinate clause (a sentence part that cannot stand alone, often starting with att). In Swedish subordinate clauses, adverbs like inte always come before the first verb. This is a very common pattern often taught as the BIFF rule.
Does inte var tvungna att mean they "must not" throw it away or they "didn't have to"?
It specifically means they "didn't have to" (they were not forced to). If the announcement was that they "must not" or "were not allowed to" throw it away, you would use fick inte instead.
What is the base form of mjölet?
The base form is mjöl (flour). It is an ett-word, which is why the definite form (the flour) is created by adding -et to the end, making it mjölet.
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