Breakdown of Någon måste ordna uttagningen för den som vill tävla.
vilja
to want to
måste
to have to, must
någon
someone / any (en-word)
för
for, to
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
tävla
to compete
ordna
to arrange
uttagningen
the tryout
den
the one (who)
Questions & Answers about Någon måste ordna uttagningen för den som vill tävla.
Why do we say den som instead of just translating "whoever" or "who"?
In English, we can say "for whoever wants to compete". In Swedish, you generally cannot use a question word like vem (who) for this. Instead, you must build a "free relative clause" using a demonstrative pronoun plus som. Here, den (the one) + som (who/that) acts as a single noun phrase following the preposition för.
Could I use de som instead of den som in this sentence?
Yes, but it changes the meaning from singular to plural. den som means "the person who" or "whoever" (singular). If you wanted to say "for those who want to compete", you would use de som vill tävla. Remember that the verbs vill and tävla stay exactly the same, since Swedish verbs don't change form for plural subjects!
Where does the noun uttagningen come from?
It is built from the phrasal verb att ta ut, which means "to select" or "to pick out" (literally "to take out"). When turned into a noun, en uttagning means a tryout, audition, or selection process. The -en ending makes it definite: uttagningen (the tryout).
Why don't we use the word att (to) before the verbs ordna and tävla?
Both of these infinitive verbs follow modal verbs: måste (must) and vill (wants to). Just like in English where we say "must organize" instead of "must to organize", Swedish drops the infinitive marker att immediately after these helper verbs.
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