Breakdown of Före utröstningen fanns det en sådan intrig om pakten!
en
a, an (common)
om
about
sådan
such, such a (sådant, sådana)
det
there (dummy subject)
finnas
to exist, to be there
före
before (preposition, + noun or time)
pakten
the pact
utröstningen
the elimination
intrigen
the intrigue
Questions & Answers about Före utröstningen fanns det en sådan intrig om pakten!
Why does the sentence use en sådan intrig instead of matching the English word order "such an intrigue"?
In Swedish, the indefinite article always comes before sådan (literally "a such"). While English says "such an intrigue", Swedish requires en sådan intrig. In everyday speech, you will often hear this shortened to en sån intrig.
Why is the verb fanns placed before det here?
Because the sentence starts with the time phrase Före utröstningen (Before the elimination). To follow the V2 (verb-second) rule, the verb fanns must take the second slot, which pushes the formal subject det into the third position.
Could I use var det instead of fanns det to mean "there was"?
No, fanns det (from the verb finnas) is the correct way to express existence ("there was" or "there were") in Swedish. If you used var det, it would sound like you were describing a specific previously mentioned thing rather than stating that an intrigue existed.
How is the word utröstningen built?
It is a compound of ut (out) and röstning (voting), with the definite suffix -en added at the end. It literally means "the voting out" and is the standard term for an elimination in a competition or reality TV show.
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