Breakdown of Detta är korridoren genom vilken man når nödutgången.
vara
to be
vilken
which (en) / what a (en-word, exclamatory)
man
one, you (people in general)
nå
to reach
genom
through
detta
this (neuter)
nödutgången
the emergency exit
korridoren
the corridor
Questions & Answers about Detta är korridoren genom vilken man når nödutgången.
Why do we use vilken here instead of vilket or som?
We use vilken because it refers back to korridoren, which is an en-word. In formal Swedish, when you want to put a preposition like genom (through) right before the relative pronoun (which), you must use vilken, vilket, or vilka. You cannot put a preposition directly before the standard everyday relative pronoun som.
How would this sentence be phrased in everyday, informal Swedish?
In conversational Swedish, it is much more common to use som and move the preposition to the end of the relative clause. You would say: Detta är korridoren som man når nödutgången genom.
Since korridoren is an en-word, why does the sentence start with the neuter pronoun Detta instead of Denna?
When you introduce or point to something using the verb to be (är), you always use the neuter form detta (this) or det (it/that), regardless of the gender of the noun that follows. You are essentially saying 'This [unidentified thing] is the corridor.' Once the noun is established, you would switch back to en-word pronouns to refer to it.
What is the root of the verb når, and how is it conjugated?
The infinitive is att nå (to reach). Because it is a short verb ending in a vowel, it takes -r in the present tense (når), -dde in the past tense (nådde), and -tt in the supine (nått).
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