Breakdown of Han äter vad som helst hett och vegetariskt.
han
he
och
and
äta
to eat
vad som helst
anything
vegetarisk
vegetarian
het
hot
Questions & Answers about Han äter vad som helst hett och vegetariskt.
Why do the adjectives hett and vegetariskt end in -t in this sentence?
They end in -t because they describe the phrase vad som helst (anything). In Swedish, indefinite pronouns based on words like vad, allt, or något are grammatically neuter, so any adjectives describing them must take the neuter -t ending.
Could I use varmt instead of hett here?
You could, but it changes the meaning slightly. Varmt means warm or standardly hot, whereas hett means very hot, either in physical temperature or in flavor (spicy). When talking about food, hett often implies that it is spicy.
Why do the adjectives come after vad som helst instead of before it?
Normally, Swedish adjectives come before the noun they describe. However, when an adjective modifies an indefinite pronoun phrase like vad som helst (anything) or något (something), the adjective is placed directly after the pronoun, exactly as it is in English.
What does the phrase vad som helst actually mean word-for-word?
Literally, it translates to what as rather, but it is a fixed phrase that means anything or whatever. You can add som helst to other question words to create similar phrases, such as vem som helst (anyone) or när som helst (anytime).
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