Breakdown of Hon har köpt gymkortet, trots att viljan att träna saknas.
hon
she
köpa
to buy
ha
to have
att
to
träna
to exercise
saknas
to be missing
trots att
although, in spite of the fact that
gymkortet
the gym membership
viljan
the will
Questions & Answers about Hon har köpt gymkortet, trots att viljan att träna saknas.
How does the phrase "viljan att träna" work here?
The noun viljan (the will) is followed by att träna (to exercise). In Swedish, just like in English, certain nouns are completed by an att + infinitive phrase to explain what the noun refers to. Other common examples you will see are tid att (time to) or en chans att (a chance to).
Why do we use "trots att" instead of just "trots"?
Trots is a preposition meaning "despite" and must be followed by a noun, like in trots regnet (despite the rain). Because the next part of this sentence is a full clause with its own subject and verb (viljan... saknas), we must use the subjunction trots att, which acts like "even though" or "despite the fact that".
Why does the verb "saknas" end in an "s"? Is it a passive verb?
Saknas is a deponent verb. This means it ends in -s (which is usually the passive ending in Swedish) but it has an active meaning: "is missing" or "lacks". You will see several common verbs like this at your level, such as hoppas (hope) and minns (remember).
Why doesn't the verb come right after "trots att" to follow the V2 (verb-second) rule?
The V2 rule only applies to main clauses. The phrase trots att starts a subordinate clause (a dependent clause). In subordinate clauses, the normal word order is subject first, so the entire subject viljan att träna comes right before the verb saknas.
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