Breakdown of Farfarn brukade alltid unna sig en paus på kvällen.
en
a, an (common)
alltid
always
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
kvällen
the evening
sig
oneself / himself / herself / themselves
pausen
the break
bruka
to usually do
farfarn
the paternal grandfather
unna
to treat
Questions & Answers about Farfarn brukade alltid unna sig en paus på kvällen.
Why do we need the word sig in this sentence?
Here, sig acts as the indirect object, specifically a benefactive one. It shows who benefits from the action. The direct object is en paus (a break). So, unna sig means to allow or treat oneself to something, making this a construction that takes two objects.
Can I use behandla instead of unna to mean 'treat'?
No, they have very different meanings. unna means to allow someone to enjoy something (often a luxury or a reward) without begrudging them. You use it when you 'treat yourself' to a break, a coffee, or a vacation. behandla means to treat someone in a medical sense or in how you behave towards them (like treating someone fairly).
Why is the definite form farfarn instead of farfaren?
Nouns ending in an unstressed -ar, -er, or -el usually drop the e from the definite -en suffix to make pronunciation smoother. Thus, farfar becomes farfarn rather than farfaren, just as cykel becomes cykeln.
Why does alltid go between brukade and unna?
alltid is a sentence adverb. In a standard main clause, sentence adverbs are placed immediately after the finite (conjugated) verb. Here, brukade is the finite verb and unna is the infinitive, so alltid slots in right between them.
Since it was a recurring habit, why is it på kvällen (singular) and not på kvällarna (plural)?
Swedish often uses the singular definite form for time expressions like på kvällen (in the evening) or på morgonen (in the morning) even for habitual actions. The habit is already established by brukade alltid, so the singular på kvällen is perfectly natural, though på kvällarna (in the evenings) would also be correct here.
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