Breakdown of Företaget förbinder sig härigenom att betala hyran.
att
to
företaget
the company
betala
to pay
hyran
the rent
härigenom
hereby (through this)
förbinda sig
to commit oneself
Questions & Answers about Företaget förbinder sig härigenom att betala hyran.
Both härigenom and härmed can translate to "hereby" in English. Why use härigenom in this sentence?
Härigenom literally means "through this" (här + igenom). It is often used in legal or formal texts to mean "through this document" or "by means of this agreement". Härmed means "with this" (här + med) and is also used for "hereby", but härigenom specifically emphasizes the instrument—the contract itself is the channel through which the company commits to paying.
What does the verb förbinder sig mean, and is it always reflexive?
Yes, in the sense of "to commit oneself" or "to pledge", the verb att förbinda sig is always reflexive. The non-reflexive base verb att förbinda means to connect, combine, or bandage. Adding the reflexive pronoun sig shifts the meaning to binding oneself to an obligation, which is the standard phrasing in Swedish contracts.
Could we start the sentence with Härigenom?
Yes, you can say Härigenom förbinder sig företaget att betala hyran. This makes the sentence sound even more formal by emphasizing the document upfront. Notice that because Swedish uses the V2 rule (the verb must be in the second position), the verb förbinder immediately follows Härigenom, pushing the subject företaget to the third position.
Is the infinitive marker att strictly necessary before betala here?
Yes. Because förbinda sig is an ordinary verb and not a modal auxiliary verb (like ska, kan, or vill), it requires the infinitive marker att before the following verb (betala) to properly link the two actions.
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