Breakdown of Vad brukar du irritera dig på i hushållet?
du
you (singular)
vad
what
i
in
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
bruka
to usually do
hushållet
the household
irritera sig
to get annoyed
Questions & Answers about Vad brukar du irritera dig på i hushållet?
Why is the preposition på placed after the verb rather than next to Vad?
This is called preposition stranding, which is the main focus of this lesson. Just like in the English translation 'What do you get annoyed at?', Swedish often leaves the preposition behind later in the sentence when the question word (like Vad) is moved to the front.
Why do we need the word dig in this sentence?
In Swedish, you don't 'get annoyed' at something, you 'annoy yourself' at it. The verb irritera is being used reflexively here as irritera sig (to get annoyed). Because the subject is du (you), the reflexive pronoun must match it, becoming dig.
Is på always the preposition used with irritera sig?
Yes, when you want to say you are annoyed 'by' or 'at' something, Swedish uses the phrase irritera sig på. Prepositions rarely translate perfectly between languages, so it is best to memorize på as a fixed chunk with this verb.
How does brukar translate to 'usually get' without an extra verb for 'get'?
The verb brukar is a helper verb that means 'is in the habit of' or 'usually does'. It is followed directly by an infinitive verb. Here, brukar irritera dig literally means 'usually annoy yourself', which gives us the natural English meaning 'usually get annoyed'.
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