Breakdown of Vad som än händer borde ni prata om det osagda.
ni
you (plural, subject)
prata
to speak
vad
what
hända
to happen
det
the (with ett-words)
om
about
som
who / which / that (relative pronoun)
böra
should, ought to
än
ever (concessive particle)
osagd
unsaid
Questions & Answers about Vad som än händer borde ni prata om det osagda.
How do we know det osagda means "the unsaid" as a noun, rather than just being an adjective missing its noun?
In Swedish, you can drop the noun completely when referring to an abstract concept. By putting the neuter definite article det in front of an adjective, it transforms into a noun phrase meaning "that which is [adjective]". This is why det osagda translates to "the unsaid" or "what has not been said". You will frequently see this pattern with phrases like det bästa (the best thing) and det viktiga (the important thing).
Why does osagda end in -a if det refers to a singular, abstract concept?
When you turn an adjective into a noun using det (a substantivized adjective), the adjective must still take its definite form, which ends in -a. Even though it represents a singular abstract concept, it follows the exact same ending rule as a regular definite adjective describing a neuter noun, just like in det stora huset (the big house).
Why is som needed in Vad som än händer? Can I just say Vad än händer?
You need som because vad is acting as the subject of the clause "whatever happens". In Swedish, whenever a question word like vad (what) or vem (who) is the subject of a relative clause, you are grammatically required to insert som right after it. You can think of it literally as "What that ever happens".
Borde looks like a past tense verb. Why is it used for the present tense "should" here?
Borde is technically the past tense of the verb böra (ought to). However, in everyday Swedish, this past tense form is used almost exclusively to give present or future advice, translating perfectly to the English "should". Using the actual present tense form, bör, sounds much more formal and reads like a strict instruction or rule rather than friendly advice.
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