Breakdown of Vi väljer att stänga av skärmarna, gå ut och umgås.
vi
we
och
and
att
to
välja
to choose
gå ut
to go out
skärmen
the screen
stänga av
to turn off
umgås
to socialize
Questions & Answers about Vi väljer att stänga av skärmarna, gå ut och umgås.
Why is there no att before gå and umgås?
In Swedish, when you have a coordinated list of infinitive verbs separated by commas or och (and), you generally only use the infinitive marker att before the first verb. It is dropped (elided) for the rest of the series: att stänga av, [att] gå ut, och [att] umgås. Dropping the repeated att makes the sentence flow much more naturally.
Could we move the particle av to the end of the phrase and say stänga skärmarna av?
No. Unlike English, where you can often split a phrasal verb (saying "turn the screens off"), Swedish particle verbs strictly keep the verb and its stressed particle together when the object is a regular noun. You must keep them adjacent and say stänga av skärmarna.
Why does the verb umgås end in an -s? Is it a passive verb?
No, it is active in meaning. Umgås (to socialize / spend time together) is a deponent verb. These are special verbs that always end in an -s across all tenses but do not have a passive meaning. Because it is part of the infinitive list, we use the infinitive form umgås.
Why use the definite plural skärmarna ("the screens") instead of just the indefinite skärmar?
Swedish frequently uses the definite form to refer to items that are implicitly "ours" or are a ubiquitous part of daily life. By saying skärmarna, the speaker is referring to "our screens" or "the screens we are all currently looking at," which sounds much more natural and grounded than using the indefinite.
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