Breakdown of Vilken fackterm sa du att de brukar använda?
du
you (singular)
de
they
vilken
which / what a (en-word)
säga
to say
använda
to use
att
that
bruka
to usually do
facktermen
the technical term
Questions & Answers about Vilken fackterm sa du att de brukar använda?
How does the word order work here with Vilken fackterm at the front?
This is a classic satsfläta (sentence intertwine). The phrase Vilken fackterm is actually the object of the verb använda in the subordinate clause. We pull it all the way to the front of the sentence to form the question, which forces the main clause into inverted word order (sa du).
Why isn't the word som used in the subordinate clause here?
In a satsfläta, we only add the placeholder som after att if we extract the subject of the subordinate clause. Because Vilken fackterm is the object (they are using the term, the term isn't doing the using), the rest of the subordinate clause (att de brukar använda) stays exactly the same, just missing its object at the end.
What does the prefix fack- mean in fackterm?
The word ett fack literally means a compartment or pigeonhole, but it is frequently used to refer to a profession, trade, or specialized field. So en fackterm is a term belonging to a specific field. You will also see this root in words like facklitteratur (specialized literature or non-fiction) and facket (the trade union).
Could I just say Vilken fackterm sa du att de använder oftast instead of using brukar?
You could, but using the auxiliary verb brukar (to usually do something) followed by the infinitive använda is by far the most natural and idiomatic way in Swedish to express a habit or a routine action.
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