Breakdown of Allergin innebar att vi var tvungna att laga maten själva.
vi
we
laga
to cook
maten
the food
att
that
själva
ourselves / yourselves / themselves (emphatic)
allergin
the allergy
innebära
involve
vara tvungen att
to have to
Questions & Answers about Allergin innebar att vi var tvungna att laga maten själva.
What is the difference between innebar and betydde, and could I use betydde here?
Both translate to "meant", but they have a slightly different focus. Betyda usually means "to signify" (like the definition of a word). Innebära leans more towards "to entail" or "to have as a consequence". Here, the allergy resulted in cooking the food themselves, making innebar the most natural choice.
Why is it tvungna instead of tvungen?
The phrase vara tvungen att (to be forced to / to have to) acts like an adjective, meaning it must agree in number with the subject. Since the subject is vi (we), which is plural, tvungen takes the plural form tvungna.
Why does the sentence use the definite maten instead of just mat?
While laga mat (to cook) is a common fixed phrase, using the definite form maten emphasizes that they had to cook their own specific meals (the food in this context) rather than just engaging in the general activity of cooking.
Why is it själva instead of själv?
Just like tvungna, the word själv (oneself / myself / themselves) must agree with the subject. Because the subject is the plural vi, själv becomes the plural själva (ourselves).
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