Breakdown of Han lät för oerfaren för att klara kylan.
han
he
att
to
för
for, to
klara
to manage
låta
to sound (like)
kylan
the cold
oerfaren
inexperienced
Questions & Answers about Han lät för oerfaren för att klara kylan.
How does the för ... för att structure work in this sentence?
This is the Swedish way to say "too [adjective] to [do something]". The first för means "too" (för oerfaren = too inexperienced). The second part, för att, normally means "in order to" but acts here like the English "to" before the infinitive verb (för att klara = to handle).
I learned that lät (from the verb låta) means "let" or "allowed". Why does it mean "sounded" here?
The verb låta has two very common meanings: "to let/allow" and "to sound". You have to tell them apart by context. Since "he let too inexperienced" doesn't make sense, it must be the second meaning: "he sounded too inexperienced".
How is the word oerfaren built?
It uses the prefix o-, which is just like the English "un-" or "in-" to create a negative or opposite meaning. Since erfaren means "experienced", adding o- makes it oerfaren ("inexperienced").
Does the verb klara mean "to clear" here?
No. While the adjective klar means "clear", "ready", or "finished", the verb klara usually means "to manage", "to cope with", or "to handle". In this context, klara kylan means to successfully handle or survive the cold.
Why is "the cold" translated as kylan instead of using the word kall?
Kall is an adjective, used to describe things (like en kall dag for "a cold day"). In this sentence, "the cold" is a noun (the coldness itself), so we use the noun kyla. Kylan is simply the definite form, meaning "the cold".
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