Breakdown of Är barnet skrämt av mörkret?
vara
to be
barnet
the child
av
of, by / from (cause)
mörkret
the darkness
skrämd
frightened
Questions & Answers about Är barnet skrämt av mörkret?
Why is skrämt used here instead of a neuter form of rädd?
The adjective rädd (afraid) is defective, meaning it does not have a neuter singular form. Because barnet is an ett word, you cannot add a -t to make rädt or rätt. The standard workaround is to use a synonym that does have a neuter form, such as skrämt (frightened), which is the neuter participle of the verb skrämma.
Since the usual phrase is rädd för, why does this sentence use av?
The preposition must match the specific adjective or participle you are using. While you are rädd för (afraid of) something, you are skrämd av (frightened by) something. Since we used skrämt as a workaround for the missing neuter form of rädd, we must also switch to its corresponding preposition av.
Would it be completely wrong to just say Är barnet rädd för mörkret?
Grammatically, it is incorrect because rädd does not agree with the ett word barn. In casual spoken Swedish, you might occasionally hear native speakers use the uninflected rädd anyway because the lack of a neuter form is frustrating, but it sounds clumsy and is considered an error in writing. Using skrämt is the proper way to express this.
Why is the definite form of mörker spelled mörkret instead of mörkeret?
The noun ett mörker (darkness) ends in -er. When adding the definite suffix -et to ett words ending in -er, -el, or -en, the unstressed e in the root is dropped to make it easier to pronounce. Thus, it becomes mörkret.
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