Breakdown of Jag vet att vi inte galopperar snabbare på ridbanan än de.
jag
I
vi
we
de
they
snabb
fast
inte
not
veta
to know (facts, information)
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
att
that
än
than
galoppera
to gallop
ridbanan
the riding arena
Questions & Answers about Jag vet att vi inte galopperar snabbare på ridbanan än de.
Why does the sentence end with the subject pronoun de instead of the object pronoun dem?
In Swedish, the pronoun after än depends on its role in the implied part of the sentence. Here, we are comparing two subjects doing an action: we gallop faster than they gallop. Because they are the subject of the implied verb galopperar, we use the subject pronoun de.
In everyday speech, would a Swede actually pronounce de as it is written here?
Usually not. In spoken Swedish, both de and dem are almost always pronounced as dom. You will typically hear än dom, but you must remember to write de here because it functions as the subject of the comparison.
Why is inte placed before the verb galopperar?
This part of the sentence is a subordinate clause, introduced by att. In Swedish subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like inte must come before the conjugated verb. You might remember this as the BIFF rule (Bisats, Inte Före Finita verbet).
Why do we use the preposition på before ridbanan?
The noun ridbana means riding arena or riding track. In Swedish, words for surfaces, fields, and open sporting areas typically take the preposition på rather than i, even if English naturally translates it as in the riding arena.
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