Breakdown of Vi vet inte varifrån den började flyta.
vi
we
den
it (common)
inte
not
veta
to know (facts, information)
börja
to start
flyta
to float (on a liquid)
varifrån
from where
Questions & Answers about Vi vet inte varifrån den började flyta.
How does varifrån work in this sentence?
Varifrån translates to "from where" or "where... from". Here, it introduces an indirect question. Instead of splitting the preposition and the question word like in the English translation ("where... from"), Swedish neatly combines them into the single word varifrån at the beginning of the subordinate clause.
Can I split varifrån and put från at the end of the sentence?
Yes, in spoken and everyday Swedish, it is very common to split them. You will frequently hear Vi vet inte var den började flyta från. Using the compounded varifrån is slightly more formal and elegant, making it excellent for written Swedish.
Why isn't there an att before flyta?
The verb börja (to begin/start) can take another verb in the infinitive directly without the infinitive marker att. While började att flyta is grammatically correct, dropping the att after börja is much more common and sounds more natural in modern Swedish.
What happens to the word order if we add an adverb like alltid (always) to the second clause?
Since varifrån den började flyta is a subordinate clause, you must follow the Swedish BIFF rule for word order. This means any sentence adverb goes before the first, conjugated verb. It would become Vi vet inte varifrån den alltid började flyta.
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