Breakdown of Många är emellertid rädda för det ovissa i framtiden.
vara
to be
i
in
många
many
det
the (with ett-words)
rädd för
afraid of
framtiden
the future
emellertid
however
oviss
uncertain
Questions & Answers about Många är emellertid rädda för det ovissa i framtiden.
How does det ovissa work here without a noun following it?
This is a substantivized adjective. By pairing the neuter article det with the definite adjective form ovissa (from oviss, meaning uncertain), it creates an abstract noun phrase meaning "the uncertain" or "that which is uncertain". You will see this pattern often for abstract concepts, like det viktiga (the important thing).
Why is emellertid placed after the verb instead of at the very beginning like the English "however"?
emellertid is a sentence adverb. Because Swedish follows the V2 (verb-second) rule, the verb är must be the second element after the subject Många. In a standard main clause, sentence adverbs go directly after that finite verb. You could start the sentence with Emellertid, but then the verb would have to swap places with the subject (Emellertid är många...).
Why is the adjective rädda in the plural form?
The adjective describes the subject of the sentence, Många (many). Since Många is inherently plural, the adjective must agree with it by taking the plural -a ending, becoming rädda instead of the singular rädd.
The English translation says "afraid of", but the Swedish uses för. Why isn't it av?
Prepositions attached to specific adjectives often have to be memorized as fixed combinations. In Swedish, the specific expression for being afraid of something is always att vara rädd för.
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