Breakdown of Tänk om någon uppfinner en tidsmaskin imorgon!
en
a, an (common)
imorgon
tomorrow
någon
someone / any (en-word)
tänk om
what if
uppfinna
to invent
tidsmaskinen
the time machine
Questions & Answers about Tänk om någon uppfinner en tidsmaskin imorgon!
Why does the sentence use Tänk om to mean 'What if'?
Tänk om literally translates to 'think if', but it is the standard Swedish phrase for 'what if' or 'imagine if'. You use it to introduce a hypothetical scenario, a wish, or a fear.
Is om någon uppfinner... considered a main clause or a subclause here?
It acts as a subclause attached to the imperative verb Tänk (Think/Imagine). Because it is a subclause, it follows the BIFF rule. This means if you wanted to make it negative, the sentence adverb inte would go before the verb: Tänk om någon inte uppfinner...
Why use the present tense uppfinner when the sentence talks about imorgon (tomorrow)?
Swedish frequently uses the present tense to describe future events, as long as the future context is clear from a time marker like imorgon. This is exactly like English, where we say 'What if someone invents' rather than 'What if someone will invent'.
Can I separate the verb uppfinner into finner upp?
No, uppfinna (to invent) is a non-separable compound verb. While Swedish has many phrasal verbs where a particle can be detached, the prefix upp- in uppfinna is permanently attached to the front of the word.
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