Breakdown of Han förstod inte temat, men det gjorde jag.
jag
I
han
he
det
it (neuter)
inte
not
göra
to do, to make
förstå
to understand
men
but
temat
the theme
Questions & Answers about Han förstod inte temat, men det gjorde jag.
Why is there a det in the second clause?
In Swedish, you usually cannot leave a substitute verb hanging on its own like in English ("but I did"). You must use the pronoun det to refer back to the entire action that was just mentioned—in this case, understanding the theme. You are literally saying "but that did I".
Why is the word order det gjorde jag instead of jag gjorde det?
While men jag gjorde det is grammatically correct, it is much more natural in Swedish to pull the connecting idea (det) to the front of the clause. When you put det in the first position, the V2 (verb-second) rule forces the verb (gjorde) to come right before the subject (jag).
Why use gjorde instead of repeating the verb förstod?
Just like in English, Swedish uses the verb göra (to do) as a substitute to avoid repeating an active main verb. Gjorde matches the past tense of förstod. Together with det, it forms the complete substitute phrase to mean "did that".
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