Breakdown of Tefatet ska ha kraschat trots att vädret var perfekt.
vara
to be
ha
to have
vädret
the weather
trots att
although, in spite of the fact that
perfekt
perfect
ska
is said to, reportedly
krascha
to crash (planes, computers)
tefatet
the saucer
Questions & Answers about Tefatet ska ha kraschat trots att vädret var perfekt.
How does ska ha kraschat translate to "reportedly crashed" here?
In this context, ska doesn't mean "will" or "shall". When used for hearsay or unverified information, ska translates to "is said to" or "reportedly". Because the crash happened in the past, we use ska ha (is said to have) followed by the supinum form kraschat.
The word tefatet literally translates to "the tea saucer". Is that the normal word for a UFO?
Yes! Just like "flying saucer" in English, a flygande tefat or simply tefat is the established term for a UFO in Swedish. It combines te (tea) and fat (dish or saucer).
Why do we use trots att instead of just trots?
Trots is a preposition meaning "despite" and must be followed by a noun phrase, like trots vädret (despite the weather). Because we are following it with a full clause containing a new subject and a verb (vädret var perfekt), we must use the conjunction trots att (despite that or even though).
Why isn't the verb order inverted after trots att? Shouldn't it be trots att var vädret perfekt?
No, because trots att introduces a subordinate clause. In Swedish subordinate clauses, the standard word order is always subject first, then verb. Therefore, it must be vädret var perfekt.
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