Breakdown of Under presskonferensen förnekade talespersonen att företaget hade betalat mutan.
ha
to have
företaget
the company
betala
to pay
att
that
förneka
to deny
under
during
talespersonen
the spokesperson
presskonferensen
the press conference
mutan
the bribe
Questions & Answers about Under presskonferensen förnekade talespersonen att företaget hade betalat mutan.
Why do we use the past perfect hade betalat (had paid) in the subordinate clause?
This is an example of tense shifting in indirect speech. Because the main verb förnekade (denied) is in the past tense, the action being denied must be shifted one step further back in time. The original statement might have used the past tense (betalade) or present perfect (har betalat), which shifts to the past perfect (hade betalat) when reported after a past-tense verb.
Why is the subject talespersonen placed after the verb förnekade?
This is the classic V2 (verb-second) rule in action. The sentence starts with the prepositional phrase Under presskonferensen, which takes up the entire first position. The verb förnekade must come second, so the subject talespersonen is pushed to the third position.
I usually see under meaning 'under' or 'beneath'. Does it always translate to 'during' when talking about time?
Yes, when referring to time, under is the standard Swedish preposition for 'during'. You will frequently see it paired with events or time periods, like under sommaren (during the summer) or under mötet (during the meeting).
What is the base form of the word mutan?
The base noun is en muta (a bribe), making the definite form mutan (the bribe). It is directly related to the verb att muta, which means 'to bribe'.
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