Breakdown of En oansvarig granne bryr sig inte om reglerna.
en
a, an (common)
inte
not
grannen
the neighbor
regeln
the rule
Questions & Answers about En oansvarig granne bryr sig inte om reglerna.
How does the prefix o- work in the word oansvarig?
The prefix o- is commonly used in Swedish to negate adjectives, similar to "un-", "in-", or "ir-" in English. Here, ansvarig means "responsible," so adding the prefix creates oansvarig, meaning "irresponsible."
Why does the negation inte come after sig instead of before it?
In Swedish main clauses, the word inte comes after the verb and any short pronouns. Because bryr sig is a reflexive verb, the reflexive pronoun sig hugs closely to the verb, pushing inte to the position right after it rather than between them.
Do I need to use all three words in bryr sig om to say "care about"?
Yes, this is a fixed reflexive phrasal verb. You need the verb (bryr), the reflexive pronoun (sig, which changes to match the subject), and the preposition (om) working together to create the meaning "to care about" or "to bother with."
Why is the plural for "the rules" reglerna instead of "regelerna"?
The singular word is en regel. Nouns that end in an unstressed "-el" usually drop that "e" when a plural ending is added to make them easier to pronounce. So it becomes regler (rules), and adding the definite ending makes it reglerna (the rules).