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Mardrömmen kändes helt verklig.

Mardrömmen kändes helt verklig.
The nightmare felt completely real.
From Lesson 393:Presentational "det" (det hände en olycka)·Swedish

Questions & Answers about Mardrömmen kändes helt verklig.

Why do we use the s-verb kändes instead of just kände?
Att känna is an active verb meaning to feel or touch something (e.g., jag kände kylan - I felt the cold). Adding the -s creates a passive or middle-voice verb that describes how something is perceived. So mardrömmen kändes means the nightmare gave the sensation of being real, rather than the nightmare actively feeling something itself.
Since mardrömmen is an en-word, why does helt end in a -t?
In this sentence, helt isn't describing the noun mardrömmen (which would mean 'the whole nightmare'). Instead, it is acting as an adverb modifying the adjective verklig, meaning 'completely' or 'entirely' real. In Swedish, adverbs formed from adjectives always take the -t ending regardless of the noun's gender.
Why doesn't verklig also take a -t ending like helt?
Even though it is separated from the noun by a verb and an adverb, verklig is a predicative adjective describing the subject, mardrömmen (en mardröm). Because the subject is an en-word, the adjective must stay in its basic form verklig to agree with it.

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