Breakdown of Redaktören ljuger. Varför misstänker du det?
du
you (singular)
det
it (neuter)
varför
why
ljuga
to lie
redaktören
the editor
misstänka
to suspect
Questions & Answers about Redaktören ljuger. Varför misstänker du det?
What does det replace in the second sentence?
It acts as a pro-form object, meaning it replaces the entire previous clause ("that the editor is lying"). After verbs of cognition like suspecting, knowing, or thinking, Swedish uses det where English might use "so" or "that", as in "Why do you suspect so?".
Could I drop det and just ask Varför misstänker du?
No, that would sound incomplete in Swedish. Verbs of cognition and communication like misstänker (to suspect), vet (to know), or tror (to believe) generally require a direct object. You need det to stand in for the fact or idea being discussed.
Why does the verb misstänker come before the subject du?
This is a great reminder of the V2 (verb-second) rule. Because the question starts with the question word Varför (Why) in position one, the verb misstänker must take position two. This pushes the subject du into position three.
Is there a trick to remembering if redaktör is an en or ett word?
Yes! Nouns ending in -ör are typically loanwords referring to people and professions, like en frisör (a hairdresser) or en ingenjör (an engineer). Because they refer to people, they are almost exclusively en words, which is why it becomes redaktören in the definite form.
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