Question 1

Why does the sentence start with hon (she) instead of henne (her), since the jury offered the money to her?

Accepted Answer

This sentence uses a recipient passive. When a verb takes two objects (like offering someone a prize), Swedish allows you to turn the recipient into the subject of a passive sentence. Just like in English ("She was offered..."), the object henne (her) is promoted to the subject pronoun hon (she).

Question 2

Could I say Hon blev erbjuden prissumman instead of using the s-passive erbjöds?

Accepted Answer

Yes, you can! Both forms are grammatically correct and mean exactly the same thing. The s-passive (erbjöds) is very common in written, journalistic, or formal Swedish, which fits the official context of a jury awarding a prize. Blev erbjuden sounds a bit more everyday and conversational.

Question 3

How does the word prissumman break down?

Accepted Answer

It is a compound noun made of pris (prize or price) and summan (the sum or amount). Notice that the second part comes from the root word en summa; because it ends in a vowel, it forms its definite version by simply adding an -n.

Question 4

Why is the definite form of the agent written as juryn rather than juryen?

Accepted Answer

Jury is an en-word borrowed into Swedish. Because it already ends in a vowel, adding the standard -en suffix would create an awkward double-vowel sound. Instead, loanwords ending in vowels typically just take an -n to form the definite, resulting in juryn.

Hon erbjöds prissumman av juryn.

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