Word
Jag vill bryta ovanan, så jag låter bli att reagera.
Meaning
I want to break the bad habit, so I refrain from reacting.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Questions & Answers about Jag vill bryta ovanan, så jag låter bli att reagera.
How exactly does låter bli att work here?
The phrase låta bli means to refrain from doing something. When followed by an action, you must connect it using att plus the infinitive form of the next verb. So låter bli att reagera directly translates to 'refrain from reacting'.
What is the word ovanan made of?
It is built from the noun en vana (a habit). The prefix o- gives a word a negative or opposite meaning, similar to 'un-' in English. So en ovana means a bad habit, and the -n at the end makes it definite: ovanan (the bad habit).
Why is the word order så jag låter bli instead of så låter jag bli?
The word så (so) is a coordinating conjunction, meaning it simply links two independent sentences together. It does not count as the first position of the new sentence. Therefore, the subject jag takes the first position, and the verb låter follows in the strict second position (the V2 rule).
Why do we use the present tense låter instead of the infinitive låta here?