Breakdown of Det är skötarens ansvar att förbereda tigerns mat före utfodringen.
vara
to be
det
it (neuter)
maten
the food
att
to
förbereda
to prepare
ansvaret
the responsibility
före
before (preposition, + noun or time)
tigern
the tiger
utfodringen
the feeding
skötaren
the keeper
Questions & Answers about Det är skötarens ansvar att förbereda tigerns mat före utfodringen.
How does this sentence demonstrate the End-Weight Principle?
The real subject of this sentence is the long infinitive phrase att förbereda tigerns mat före utfodringen. If we put all of that at the beginning, the sentence becomes very top-heavy. To make it flow better, Swedish uses the dummy subject det at the start and shifts the heavy phrase to the end, following the End-Weight Principle.
Is it possible to rewrite this sentence without using the dummy subject det?
Yes, you could say Att förbereda tigerns mat före utfodringen är skötarens ansvar. While this is grammatically correct, it sounds quite stiff and academic. The version with det is much more natural in everyday Swedish because it shifts the heavy information to the end of the sentence.
Why is the word mat in its indefinite form when we are talking about the specific food of the tiger?
When a noun is preceded by a possessive word or an s-genitive like tigerns (the tiger's), the noun that follows must be in its indefinite form. The genitive word already makes the phrase specific enough, so Swedish drops the definite suffix on the noun.
Why does skötarens end in -en before the -s?
The base word is en skötare (a keeper). For nouns ending in -are, the definite form drops the final -e and adds -en, becoming skötaren (the keeper). We then add the genitive -s to show possession, giving us skötarens (the keeper's).
Could I use innan instead of före here?
Yes, but före is traditionally preferred when placed directly before a noun phrase like utfodringen (the feeding). Före acts as a preposition, while innan historically acts as a conjunction before a full clause (like innan vi matar tigern). However, in modern everyday Swedish, people frequently use innan as a preposition too.
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