Breakdown of Instruera dem att göra sina arbetsuppgifter trots att det är sent.
vara
to be
det
it (neuter)
göra
to do, to make
att
to
dem
them
sent
late
sina
his/her/its/their own (plural)
trots att
although, in spite of the fact that
arbetsuppgiften
the task (work-related)
instruera
to instruct
Questions & Answers about Instruera dem att göra sina arbetsuppgifter trots att det är sent.
Why is sina used here instead of deras, since dem is the object of the main sentence?
This is a special case called an object-controlled reflexive. Even though dem (them) is the object of the main verb instruera, it acts as the logical subject of the infinitive phrase att göra. Because they are doing their own tasks, we use the reflexive sina.
What would the sentence mean if it said deras arbetsuppgifter instead?
If you used deras, it would mean you are instructing them to do someone else's tasks. Using sina is necessary to show that the tasks belong to the people who are actually doing them.
Why do we use trots att here rather than just trots?
trots means despite and must be followed by a noun or pronoun. Because det är sent is a complete clause with its own subject and verb, you have to use the conjunction trots att (even though / despite the fact that).
How is the compound word arbetsuppgifter formed?
It combines arbete (work) and uppgifter (tasks or duties). Swedish often drops the final vowel of the first word and inserts a connecting -s- when forming compound nouns, creating arbetsuppgifter.
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