Breakdown of Utropspriset i katalogen var lågt, så vi borde ha försökt.
vara
to be
vi
we
i
in
ha
to have
försöka
to try
så
so
låg
low
böra
should, ought to
katalogen
the catalogue
utropspriset
the starting price
Questions & Answers about Utropspriset i katalogen var lågt, så vi borde ha försökt.
How does borde ha försökt show that this is an unfulfilled past action?
It combines borde (the past tense of böra, meaning should or ought to) with the infinitive ha and the supinum form försökt (tried). This exact structure is the standard way to express regret or talk about an action that was a good idea but never actually happened.
Can I drop the word ha in borde ha försökt?
Yes, absolutely! In spoken and informal written Swedish, it is very common to drop the auxiliary ha after past tense modal verbs like borde, skulle, and kunde. Saying or writing så vi borde försökt is completely natural and means exactly the same thing.
What is an utropspris and how is the word built?
It is a compound of utrop (a call or exclamation) and pris (price). It refers to the starting price, asking price, or estimate in an auction or catalogue, essentially the price that is first called out to potential buyers.
Why is the adjective lågt used here instead of låg?
The adjective is describing utropspriset. Because the root word pris is an ett-word (which you can clearly see from the definite ending -et in utropspriset), the adjective must take the neuter -t ending to agree with it.
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