Breakdown of Det börjar ljusna på morgonen.
börja
to start
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
morgonen
the morning
det
there (dummy subject)
Questions & Answers about Det börjar ljusna på morgonen.
How is the verb ljusna formed?
It comes from the adjective ljus (light or bright). By adding the suffix -na, it becomes an inchoative verb - a verb that describes a process of becoming something. So, ljusna means "to become light" or "to brighten".
Why isn't there an att before ljusna?
The verb börja (to start or begin) can be followed by an infinitive with or without att. In everyday Swedish, it is very common to drop the att, making börjar ljusna sound more natural than börjar att ljusna. Both are grammatically correct.
Why is it på morgonen instead of i morgonen?
In Swedish, the preposition på is used with the definite form of a time of day to mean "in the [time of day]", such as på morgonen or på kvällen. Be careful not to confuse this with i morgon, which means "tomorrow"!
What does Det refer to here?
Just like in English, Swedish uses a dummy subject for weather and natural events. Det simply acts as an empty "It" to give the sentence a grammatical subject, exactly like in the English phrase "It is getting dark".