Breakdown of Programvaran är gammal, så företaget kommer att stänga ner den.
vara
to be
den
it (common)
gammal
old
företaget
the company
så
so
komma att
will (future auxiliary)
programvaran
the software
stänga ner
to shut down
Questions & Answers about Programvaran är gammal, så företaget kommer att stänga ner den.
Why is it stänga ner den instead of stänga den ner like in English 'shut it down'?
This sentence highlights a strict rule for Swedish particle verbs. The verb (stänga) and its particle (ner) must stay glued together. Unlike in English, where object pronouns often split the verb and particle, Swedish always places the object pronoun after the complete particle verb: stänga ner den.
Why do we use den at the end of the sentence to mean 'it', rather than det?
The pronoun refers back to programvaran (the software). Because programvara is an en-word, we must use the en-word pronoun den to say 'it'. If it referred to an ett-word like företaget, we would use det.
Why is the adjective gammal and not gammalt?
Just like the pronoun den, the adjective must agree with the noun's gender. Since programvara is an en-word, it takes the base form gammal. If we were describing the company (företaget) as old, we would use the ett-word form gammalt.
How does the word programvaran break down?
It is a compound noun made of program and vara (which means goods or merchandise, just like the 'ware' in 'software'). The final -n is the definite suffix, making it 'the software'.
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