Breakdown of Han säger att han inte kan hitta något bakplåtspapper.
han
he
hitta
to find
inte
not
kunna
to be able to, can
något
something / any (ett-word)
säga
to say
att
that
bakplåtspappret
the baking parchment
Questions & Answers about Han säger att han inte kan hitta något bakplåtspapper.
Why do we use inte ... något here instead of just saying inget?
This sentence triggers the split negation rule (the 'ingen' rule) for two reasons! First, it is in a subordinate clause introduced by att (that). Second, it uses an auxiliary verb, kan (can). Because of these factors, the object cannot be inget and must be split into inte and något.
Why is inte placed before the verb kan in this sentence?
In subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like inte must come before the conjugated verb. This is often remembered by the BIFF rule (Bisats, Inte Före Finita verbet). If this were a main clause, the order would be han kan inte hitta.
Why is it något and not någon?
The pronoun must match the gender of the noun it describes. Because papper is an 'ett' word (ett papper), you must use the neuter form något.
How do you break down the compound word bakplåtspapper?
It combines bak (baking), plåt (tray or sheet), and papper (paper). Notice the connecting -s- between plåt and papper, which is a common way to glue nouns together in Swedish compounds.
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