Breakdown of Varför ljög överste Johan för major Karin?
varför
why
för
for, to
Karin
Karin
Johan
Johan
ljuga
to lie
översten
the colonel
majoren
the major
Questions & Answers about Varför ljög överste Johan för major Karin?
Why isn't it översten Johan or majoren Karin with the definite suffix?
When a title, profession, or military rank comes immediately before a person's name in Swedish, it takes the zero article (no article or definite suffix). If you removed their names, you would use the definite form: Varför ljög översten för majoren? (Why did the colonel lie to the major?).
Why are överste and major written with lowercase letters when they are titles attached to names?
In Swedish, titles and professions are not capitalized, even when they act as honorifics right in front of a proper noun. They are only capitalized if they happen to be the first word of a sentence.
Why do we use för here instead of till to say he lied "to" her?
The Swedish phrase for "to lie to someone" is att ljuga för någon. Using till here is a common mistake for English speakers, but för is the correct preposition to express who is being deceived.
What is the infinitive form of ljög, and how does this verb conjugate?
The verb for "to lie" is irregular. The forms are att ljuga (infinitive), ljuger (present), ljög (past), and har ljugit (supine).
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