Breakdown of Jag vill inte att simfenorna rör bottnen.
jag
I
inte
not
vilja
to want to
att
that
röra
to touch
simfenan
the flipper
bottnen
the bottom
Questions & Answers about Jag vill inte att simfenorna rör bottnen.
Why can't I say Jag vill inte simfenorna att röra bottnen to match the English structure?
English uses an object and an infinitive (want the flippers to touch), but Swedish does not allow this with verbs of volition like vill when the subject changes. Because the main subject (jag) is different from the actor in the second part (simfenorna), you must use an att-clause. You are literally saying I do not want that the flippers touch the bottom.
Since English uses the infinitive to touch, why does Swedish use the present tense rör?
Once you introduce the att-clause, you are starting a new mini-sentence. This new clause has its own subject (simfenorna) and therefore requires a fully conjugated finite verb (rör) rather than an infinitive.
Why is the bottom spelled as bottnen here instead of bottenen?
The base noun is en botten (a bottom). Because it ends in an unstressed -en, Swedish drops the final e before adding the definite ending, giving us bottnen. This follows the same pattern as words like en nyckel becoming nyckeln. Be aware that in casual spoken Swedish, it is very common to just say botten for both the definite and indefinite forms.
How is the word simfenorna constructed?
It is a compound word made from sim- (the root of att simma, to swim) and fenorna (the definite plural of en fena, meaning a fin). Put together, simfenor is the standard Swedish term for swimming flippers.
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