Breakdown of Vi måste veta varifrån de skickade containern.
vi
we
de
they
veta
to know (facts, information)
måste
to have to, must
skicka
to send
varifrån
from where
containern
the container (shipping, dumpster)
Questions & Answers about Vi måste veta varifrån de skickade containern.
In English we usually say "where they sent it from". Can I split varifrån in Swedish too?
Yes! In everyday spoken Swedish, it is very common to split it and put the preposition at the end: var de skickade containern ifrån. However, keeping them together as varifrån at the start of the clause is standard in written and slightly more formal Swedish.
Why doesn't the verb come right after varifrån? (i.e., varifrån skickade de)
Because this is an indirect question embedded inside a larger sentence ("We must know..."). Indirect questions function as subordinate clauses, so they follow the strict Subject-Verb word order: subject (de) followed by the verb (skickade). If it were a direct question standing alone, the verb would come right after the question word: Varifrån skickade de containern?
Why isn't there an att (to) between måste and veta?
måste is a modal verb (like can, will, or must). In Swedish, modal verbs are followed directly by the bare infinitive of the next verb without the infinitive marker att. So you just say måste veta, never måste att veta.
Why is the definite form containern instead of containeren?
container is an English loanword ending in an unstressed -er. When adding the definite suffix for an en word (-en), Swedish drops the 'e' from the suffix to avoid a clunky double vowel sound. Therefore, it becomes containern.
Learn Vi måste veta varifrån de skickade containern and more in Swedish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free