Breakdown of Vi lägger händerna bredvid kristallkulan och lyssnar på vad spådomen säger.
vi
we
och
and
lyssna på
to listen to
vad
what
Questions & Answers about Vi lägger händerna bredvid kristallkulan och lyssnar på vad spådomen säger.
Why do we use vad in this sentence instead of som?
Both can translate to "that" or "which" in some contexts, but they work differently. You use som when it refers back to a specific noun already mentioned (e.g., "the ball that is round"). Here, vad acts as an independent relative pronoun meaning "what" or "that which". It doesn't point back to a noun; instead, it introduces the whole idea of what the prophecy is saying.
Why does the Swedish sentence say händerna (the hands) instead of våra händer (our hands)?
When referring to body parts (or clothing), Swedish usually uses the definite form (like händerna) rather than a possessive pronoun (like våra), as long as it's obvious from the context whose body parts they are. Since the subject is Vi (We), it's automatically understood that we are putting our own hands down.
Why is there a på right before vad?
The på belongs to the verb lyssnar. Just like in English where you "listen to" something, in Swedish you always "listen on" (lyssnar på) something. The entire clause starting with vad acts as the object that you are listening to.
What determines the gender and ending of the compound word kristallkulan?